Currently, the city of Grimchester is liable for any injury incurred because of a city sidewalk in need of repair or ...

Skylar on April 26, 2020

@Henleys, happy to help!

We are asked to identify the answer choice that does two things: (1) describes an injury for which the city would be liable under the current system, and (2) describes an injury for which the principle cited in the passage would not find the city liable.The passage proposes the principle that "governments should be liable for injuries incurred on public property only if they knew about the danger beforehand and negligently failed to eliminate it."

(B) "A person is injured after tripping over a shopping bag that someone had left lying in the middle of the sidewalk."

This is incorrect because it does not meet the first criteria of describing an injury for which the city would be liable under the current system. The passage tells us that the city is currently liable for any injury "incurred because of a sidewalk in need of repair or maintenance." In this case, the sidewalk itself does not require work.

(C) "A person is injured after stepping in a large hole in a city sidewalk, and the city administration had first learned of the need to repair that sidewalk minutes before."

This meets the first criteria, as it is an injury resulting from a city sidewalk's need for repair, so the city is liable under the current system. It also meets the second criteria, as the city had just found out about the danger and did not have time to act negligently, so it should not be found liable under the proposed principle. Therefore, (C) is correct.

Does that make sense? Please let us know if you have any additional questions!