The following three questions should be answered as an attachment to me. You have until Sunday, October 23, to return your answers to me. You are permitted to use the textbook but no other sources (use of other sources will result in a grade of zero for this examination). You are not permitted to collaborate with any other person in preparing your answers (that means exactly that – no other person, no classmates, or anyone else). These questions require detailed answers, so a few sentences for each will not suffice.
Question 1: At page 85 of the text, there is a discussion of drug-testing of employees. Consider the following scenario: a company requires all employees to undergo drug-testing on a yearly basis. An employee goes to the testing laboratory selected by the employer and undergoes a urine test. The laboratory reports to the employer that the employee has tested positive for an illegal drug. The employer fires the employee. Two months later, the laboratory advises the employer that the laboratory had made a mistake and that the urine test should have been reported as negative, that is, no use of illegal drugs. The employer does not want to bring the employee back to work anyway. a) Explain whether or not you believe the employer should notify the ex-employee of the mistake. b) Explain in detail what contract and/or tort claims the ex-employee might have, and against whom, and for what kind and amount of damages.
Question 2: Tony Williams works in a downtown business district, but he resides in a suburban town. In order to get to work, he drives several miles from his home to a shopping mall, parks in the mall parking lot, and takes an express bus from the mall to the business district. On a particular Friday, Tony has plans to meet several friends after work at a restaurant in the shopping mall. That morning, while walking from his car to the bus stop, Tony trips on a piece of broken cement walkway within the mall parking lot. a) Discuss what claims, if any, Tony will present against the mall’s owners. b) Discuss what defenses the mall will make to Tony’s claims. c) Discuss in detail who will win this case, and explain why.
Question 3: A family physician erroneously believes that a patient is suffering from appendicitis and recommends the patient undergo surgery to remove the appendix. The surgeon who performs the surgery discovers, after opening the patient’s abdominal cavity, that there is no appendicitis. The surgeon however finds a very small malignant tumor that was otherwise not discoverable, and the surgeon removes the tumor. a) The patient wants to sue both the family doctor and the surgeon for negligence in misdiagnosing the condition and performing an unnecessary surgical procedure. Does the patient have a winnable case against either or both physicians? Explain in detail why or why not.