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The eggshell skull rule (or thin skull rule or you take your victim as you find him rule of the common law) is a well established legal doctrine used in some tort law systems,〔(708 F.2d 1217 ), citing Prosser, ''Handbook of the Law of Torts'' 261 (4th ed. 1971)〕 with a similar doctrine applicable to criminal law. It means that frailty of the injured person is not a defense in a tort case. ==The law== This rule holds that a tortfeasor is liable for all consequences resulting from his or her tortious (usually negligent) activities leading to an injury to another person, even if the victim suffers an unusually high level of damage (e.g. due to a pre-existing vulnerability or medical condition). The term implies that if a person had a skull as delicate as that of the shell of an egg, and a tortfeasor who was unaware of the condition injured that person's head, causing the skull unexpectedly to break, the defendant would be held liable for all damages resulting from the wrongful contact, even if the tortfeasor did not intend to cause such a severe injury. In criminal law, the general maxim is that the defendant must "take their victims as they find them", a quotation from the judgment of Lord Justice Lawton in ''R v. Blaue'' (1975), in which the defendant was held responsible for killing his victim, despite his contention that her refusal of a blood transfusion constituted ''novus actus interveniens''.〔''R v Blaue'' () 1 WLR 1411 (BAILII )〕 The doctrine is applied in all areas of torts - intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability cases - as well as in criminal law. There is no requirement of physical contact with the victim - if a trespasser's wrongful presence on the victim's property so terrifies the victim that he has a fatal heart attack, the trespasser will be liable for the damages stemming from his original tort. The foundation for this rule is based primarily on policy grounds. The courts do not want the defendant or accused to rely on the victim's own vulnerability to avoid liability. The thin skull rule is not to be confused with the related crumbling skull rule in which the plaintiff suffers from a detrimental position (from a prior injury, for instance) pre-existent to the occurrence of the present tort. In the "crumbling skull" rule, the prior condition is only to be considered with respect to distinguishing it from any new injury arising from the present tort - as a means of apportioning damages in such a way that the defendant would not be liable for placing the plaintiff in a better position than they were in prior to the present tort.〔''Athey v. Leonati'', () 3 S.C.R. 458, (1996), 140 D.L.R. (4th) 235 (S.C.C.), online at: http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1996/1996canlii183/1996canlii183.html〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Eggshell skull」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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