Question

A bicyclist was riding his bicycle in the street when a negligently driven car struck the bike, knocking the bicyclist off the bike and breaking his right ankle. The driver of the car immediately stopped and went to his assistance. She got him to his feet and was slowly moving him toward the curb when a negligently driven taxicab struck him in the left leg. The bicyclist required surgery on both his right ankle and his left leg.
If the bicyclist sues the driver and the cabbie, which of the following best states his right to recover?


A He can recover from either the driver or the cabbie for all of his injuries because the driver and the cabbie are jointly and severally liable.
B He can recover from the driver only for the injury to his right ankle and recover from the cabbie only for the injury to his left leg.
C He can recover from either the driver or the cabbie for the injury to his left leg and recover from the driver only for the injury to his right ankle.
D He cannot recover against the driver for the injury to his left leg unless the jury determines that the driver acted negligently when she came to his aid.

Answer 1

Answer:

C. He can recover from either the driver or the cabbie for the injury to his left leg and recover from the driver only for the injury to his right ankle.

Explanation:

When two or more tortious acts combine to proximately cause an indivisible injury to a plaintiff, each tortfeasor is jointly and severally liable to the plaintiff for the entire damage incurred. Joint and several liabilities apply even though each tortfeasor acted entirely independently. However, if the actions are independent, the plaintiff's injury is divisible, and it is possible to identify the portion of injuries caused by each defendant, then each will be liable only for the identifiable portion. Here, the cabbie would not be liable for the injury to the right ankle, because the cabbie did not cause the injury.