“Eggshell skull” refers to a legal doctrine, which holds that a defendant’s liability in a tort claim is not mitigated by a plaintiff’s unforeseeable, pre-existing susceptibility to injury. Under the doctrine, a defendant is liable for any injury proximately caused by the commission of a tort, even if it is the result of a plaintiff’s peculiar characteristic, such as a skull as thin as an eggshell. A defendant “takes their victim as they find them” under this doctrine. See, e.g. Vosburg v. Putney, 50 N.W. 403 (Wisc. 1891)
[Last updated in June of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]