Death in Relation to Tort — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. What does the maxim actio personalis moritur cum persona mean?

   • A criminal action can never be brought against a deceased person's estate
   • A personal action dies with the person (correct answer)
   • Only the plaintiff's heirs can bring a tort action
   • Death automatically transfers all liability to the state

   Explanation. The maxim literally means a personal action dies with the person — at early common law, this extinguished purely personal tort claims on the death of either party.

2. What was the first aspect of the actio personalis rule, concerning the death of the wrongdoer?

   • The wrongdoer's family became automatically liable in his place
   • If the wrongdoer died, the claim ended and could not be pursued against his estate (correct answer)
   • The wrongdoer's death converted the civil claim into a criminal prosecution
   • Nothing changed — the claim always survived regardless of the wrongdoer's death

   Explanation. At common law, a claim in tort ended when either the wrongdoer or the injured person died, so it could not be continued against the wrongdoer's estate. Section 306 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 now saves most claims.

3. In Baker v Bolton (1808), what did Lord Ellenborough hold regarding a claim for the death of the plaintiff's wife?

   • The plaintiff could recover full damages for the loss of his wife's life
   • In a civil Court, the death of a human being could not be complained of as an injury (correct answer)
   • The wife's estate could sue on her behalf after her death
   • The claim succeeded because the defendant acted with malice

   Explanation. Lord Ellenborough held that the jury could consider only the husband's own bruises, the loss of his wife's society and his distress, from the accident until her death. The damages as to the wife stopped with the period of her existence.

4. What anomaly did the rule in Baker v Bolton famously create?

   • It made theft more serious than murder in criminal law
   • It made it, in effect, cheaper in civil law for a tortfeasor to kill a victim outright than to merely injure them, since death gave rise to no civil claim at all (correct answer)
   • It abolished all forms of tort liability entirely
   • It required all tort claims to be filed within 24 hours

   Explanation. Since causing death gave rise to no civil claim while causing serious injury remained fully actionable, the rule produced the well-known anomaly that killing was effectively cheaper, in tort damages, than injuring.

5. What new right did the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 create in India?

   • A right for the deceased's estate to continue the deceased's own pre-existing claim
   • A right for the wife, husband, parent and child of a person killed by a wrongful act, neglect or default to sue for their own loss (correct answer)
   • A right for criminal courts to award civil damages
   • A right for any member of the public to sue on behalf of a deceased stranger

   Explanation. The common law gave no action for causing a death. The Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 allows a suit for the benefit of the wife, husband, parent and child, in proportion to their loss. It is their own right, separate from the deceased's claim.

6. Under section 306 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, what happens to most causes of action when a party dies?

   • They all end with the person
   • They survive to and against his executor or administrator, subject to exceptions (correct answer)
   • They pass to the State
   • They are converted into criminal cases

   Explanation. Section 306 saves most demands and rights to prosecute or defend an action, which survive to and against the executor or administrator. Defamation, assault and personal injuries not causing death are exceptions.

7. Which Indian statute gives the wife, husband, parent and child a right to sue when a wrongful act causes a person's death?

   • The Indian Succession Act, 1925
   • The Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 (correct answer)
   • The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
   • The Limitation Act, 1963

   Explanation. Sections 1A and 2 of the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 allow a suit, for the benefit of the wife, husband, parent and child, where death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default that would have given the deceased a right to sue.

8. Which of these claims of a deceased person does NOT survive his death under section 306 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925?

   • A claim for damage to his car
   • A claim for his defamation (correct answer)
   • A claim for money owed to him
   • A claim to recover his property

   Explanation. Section 306 excepts causes of action for defamation, assault or other personal injuries not causing death. The harm was personal to the deceased.

9. Under Order XXII, rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, a suit does not abate on the death of a party if:

   • The family of the deceased agrees
   • The right to sue survives (correct answer)
   • The court has already fixed a hearing date
   • The claim is above a certain amount

   Explanation. Order XXII, rule 1 lets the suit continue when the right to sue survives. A claim that does not survive, such as the deceased's own claim for defamation, ends.

10. A negligent driver, D, causes the instant death of a pedestrian, V, who leaves behind a wife and two children. Applying the modern Indian legal position, what claim(s) can V's dependants bring against D?

    • No claim at all, following the strict rule in Baker v Bolton, since that case remains unmodified law in India
    • A statutory claim under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, for their own financial loss resulting from V's death (correct answer)
    • Only a criminal complaint, with no civil remedy available
    • A claim only if D also dies before the suit is filed

    Explanation. The common law gave no action for causing a death. Under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, V's wife and children can sue D for their loss. The legal representatives can also claim before the Claims Tribunal under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.