Life Support Withdrawal Breaks Causation
This trap appears as a wrong-answer choice in 1 active question. Spotting how it is built is the repair: read each example's “why it's attractive” before the “why it's wrong.”
Subject distribution
- Torts1
Example wrong choices
20717_ruths_hymn_recording_procedure · TORTS · Choice Bprevail, because the respiratory collapse that caused Ruth’s death was caused by the procedure that Dr. Peter performed.
Why it's attractive
A student sees a complete medical timeline from procedure to collapse to death. The breaker is that the alleged breach is the missed consult, not the procedure in general.
Why it's wrong
This choice proves the procedure was in the causal chain, but the alleged breach is the missed allergist consult.
Spot it next time
Ask whether the missed allergist consult caused the collapse.
20717_ruths_hymn_recording_procedure · TORTS · Choice Cnot prevail, because Dr. Peter had nothing to do with the withdrawal of life support, which was the cause of Ruth’s death.
Why it's attractive
A student sees that Dr. Peter did not withdraw support and treats that later decision as a clean causal break. The breaker is the life-support Gold Key: if the breach caused the need for support, withdrawal normally does not supersede causation.
Why it's wrong
This choice treats life-support withdrawal as the cause that defeats liability, but that move fails if the breach caused the condition requiring support.
Spot it next time
Ask whether the alleged breach created the condition requiring support.
20717_ruths_hymn_recording_procedure · TORTS · Choice Dprevail, because Dr. Peter was negligent in failing to have Ruth examined by an allergist before the procedure.
Why it's attractive
A student grabs the strongest plaintiff fact, the accepted-practice violation. The breaker is that breach is not enough without evidence that the breach caused the injury.
Why it's wrong
This choice proves breach but omits proof that the breach caused Ruth's collapse.
Spot it next time
Require evidence that the breach changed the outcome.
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