Duty or Standard of Care

Question 1

What is the standard that duty is held to?

Answer 1

The reasonable person standard or objective standard

Question 2

What two conditions can change to alter the degree of care that must be exercised?

Answer 2

1) Dangerous conditions: the greater the danger, the greater the care that must be taken.
2) Sudden Emergency: The standard remains a reasonable person under the circumstances.

Question 3

What circumstances can change the degree of care required that are caused by deficient with the defendant?

Answer 3

1) A physical limitation
2) Mental Capacity
3) Superior ability of the actor
4) Children

Question 4

What care must a person with a physical limitation exercise?

Answer 4

Ordinary care. Ordinary care is such that a reasonable person under the same disability would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances.

Question 5

What care must a person with limited mental capacity exercise?

Answer 5

A person with a mental disability is generally held to the same standard of care as that of a reasonable person under the same circumstances without regard to the alleged tortfeasors capacity to control or understand the consequences of their actions.
Exceptions:
1) Where there is a sudden onset of the disability
2) When the policy reasons are inapplicable?

Question 6

What are the exceptions to the rule regarding standard of care that a person with a mental disability must exercise?

Answer 6

1) Where there is a sudden onset of the disability

2) When the policy reasons are inapplicable.

Question 7

What is the rule regarding someone with superior ability for the standard of care that they must exercise?

Answer 7

If a person has more than the minimum knowledge of a subject then they should have better knowledge of the risks and they are require to exercise the superior qualities that he has in a manner reasonable to the circumstances.

Question 8

What is the rule regarding duty of care that children must exercise? And what is the exception to the rule?

Answer 8

A child is required to conform to the standard of care of a child of like age, education, intelligence, and experience.
Exception: When they child is involved in an adult activity.

Question 9

What does the exception to the children rule of duty care about adult activity require to be put into effect?

Answer 9

A activity is considered an adult activity if:

1) The activity requires adult skills
2) Activity is normally only engaged in by adults.

Question 10

What are the elements of a Per Se negligence claim?

Answer 10

1) the statute or regulation must clearly define the required standard of conduct;
2) The statute or regulation must have been intended to prevent the type of harm the defendants acts or omission caused;
3) The plaintiff must be a member of the class of persons the statute or regulation is designed to protect;
4) The violation was the proximate cause of the injury.

Question 11

Definition of Negligence Per Se?

Answer 11

Negligence established as a matter of law, so that the breach of the duty is not a jury question.

Question 12

Duty of common carriers:

Answer 12

Duty stops just short of insuring their total safety. Owe passengers a duty of the “highest of care.”
Basically common carriers are liable in most instances when passengers are injured inside the common carrier whether it was by their negligence or not.

Question 13

Duty of Host Drivers:

Answer 13

Owes everyone in the vehicle reasonable safety.

Question 14

Duty of Landowners to Trespassers:

1) What is a trespasser?
2) What duty to landowners have to trespassers?

Answer 14

1) Trespasser is any person who has no legal right to on another land and enters without the owners consent.
2) Landowner must protect trespasser only against intentional, wanton, or reckless injuries. There is no liability for simple negligence unless the trespasser falls within the footpath or discovered trespasser exceptions.

Question 15

Duty to child trespassers:

What is the Attractive Nuisance Rule?

Answer 15

Liable for physical harm to children trespassing if:

1) D knows or has reason to know of the children trespassing
2) Knows or should know of unreasonable risk to child
3) Kid does not know risk is dangerous
4) Utility of maintaining the condition and the burden of eliminating the danger are slight as compared with the risk to the child.
5) D fails to exerciser reasonable care to eliminate the danger and protect the child.

Question 16

Duty to child trespassers:

What factors must be applied to determine if the attractive nuisance rule applies?

Answer 16

1) Trespass by children was foreseeable
2) D knows or should have known the risk to children
3) Child because of age could not understand the danger
4) Unreasonable not to protect against the risk.

Question 17

Duty to child trespassers:

What age range does the doctrine of attractive nuisance apply?

Answer 17

Young children, usually 7 or less.

Question 18

Duty to child trespassers:

What is the law for child trespassers in Illinois?

Answer 18

Duty to protect children where:

1) Owner knew or should have known that children habitually frequent the property
2) There was a defective structure or a dangerous condition
3) Children, because of age or maturity, would not appreciate the risk involved
4) Expense of remedying the defect was slight when compared to the risk created to children.

Question 19

Duty of landowners:

Open and obvious risks

Answer 19

Landowner has no responsibility to warn others of open and obvious risks.

Question 20

Duty of Landowners:

Define Licensee-

Answer 20

Someone on the land with the permission of the owner but with a limited right to be there.
ie: social guests in a majority of jurisdictions

Question 21

Duty of landowners:

Duty owed to licensee-

Answer 21

To refrain and protect from willful, wanton, or reckless conduct.
If there is a danger than the owner has the duty to warn against it.
No duty to warn or guard against latent and obvious risks or dangers such as snow or ice.

Question 22

Duty of landowners:

Define Invitee-

Answer 22

Any person on the land either:

1) for the partial benefit of the owner
2) who is on the land as its held open for the public.

Question 23

Duty of landowners:

Duty to invitee’s-

Answer 23

Duty is reasonable care and may require a duty to warn and guard but not for obvious dangers.

Question 24

Duty of Landowners:

Duty to official Entrants (the firefighter’ rule)-

Answer 24

Firefighters, police officers, and other official entrants assume all the risks inherent in their professional work but may recover for misconduct not related to the cause of the fire or defect.

Question 25

Duty of Landowners:

Duty to lessors-

Answer 25

Reasonable care toward their tenants