Eggshell-Plaintiff Rule or Thin-Skull Rule
The eggshell rule is a legal doctrine that establishes a defendant is liable for the injuries to another person flowing from the defendant’s negligent act, even if the plaintiff’s injuries are unforeseeable or have an unusually high level of damage. More simply put, the defendant takes the plaintiff as they find them. If the plaintiff has some preexisting condition and that
preexisting condition is aggravated by tortious or negligent act of the defendant, then the defendant is liable for the aggravation he or she caused.
Let’s look at an example:
Mary is at the grocery store. As she grabbed a box of cereal off the shelf, Mary slipped on a wet patch resulting in her falling to the ground. Marry suffers from a rare bone disease that makes her bones brittle and weak. Due to the slip, Mary suffered an extreme break in her right femur which caused her bones to splinter and puncture through her skin. Because of the puncture she lost a considerable amount of blood and will need extensive surgeries to walk correctly again. The grocery store would be liable for the extensive and uncommon injuries Mary incurred.
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