eggshell skull
The eggshell skull rule, also called the thin skull rule, is a common law doctrine that holds a defendant liable for the full extent of a plaintiff’s unforeseeable and uncommon reactions to the defendant's negligent or intentional tort. As long as the injury was proximately caused by the defendant’s wrongful act, the defendant is responsible for the resulting harm, no matter how severe. This reflects the principle that a defendant must “take the victim as they find them.”
A common example is where a person has an unusually thin skull due to a medical condition. If that person suffers a severe head injury in an accident caused by someone else, the defendant is fully liable for the harm, even if most people would not have been seriously injured under the same circumstances.
See e.g., Koch v. United States, 857 F.3d 267 (5th Cir. 2017)
[Last reviewed in July of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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