Question

Oxley throws a rock intending to hit Pieter but misses and hits Ricardo who sustains an injury. Ricardo can most likely recover damages in a suit against Oxley based on the tort theory of ________?

1) Negligence
2) Assault
3) Battery
4) Intentional infliction of emotional distress

Answer 1

Ricardo can most likely recover damages in a suit against Oxley based on the tort theory of negligence.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ricardo can most likely recover damages in a suit against Oxley based on the tort theory of negligence.

In this situation, Oxley's action of throwing a rock with the intent to hit Pieter but hitting Ricardo instead can be considered negligent. Negligence occurs when someone fails to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to another person. Oxley's failure to hit his intended target and causing injury to Ricardo would likely be seen as a breach of duty that a reasonable person would owe to others.

Ricardo can argue that Oxley's conduct was careless and directly caused his injury. To succeed in a negligence claim, Ricardo would need to prove four elements: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. In this case, Oxley had a duty to exercise reasonable care when throwing the rock, but his action of hitting Ricardo instead of Pieter breached that duty and caused Ricardo's injury. As a result, Ricardo can most likely recover damages from Oxley.