Intro to Negligence Flashcards
What are the five elements of negligence
- Duty of care
- Standard of care
- Damages
- Causation in fact
- Causation in law
The following describes what?
A legal obligation imposed on an individual to take reasonable care to avoid causing harm to another person
Duty of care
The following describes what?
A two pronged test that used to determine whether a duty of care should be recognized in novel cases
The Anns Test
What are the two elements used in the Anns Test to determine if someone has a duty of care?
Foreseeability and promiximity
proximity - social relations, physical proximity, business relations,etc
The following describes what?
The standard, based on reasonableness, against which a person’s conduct will be compared in determining negligence (focuses on the conduct of the defendant)
Standard of Care
The following describes what?
the hypothetical person with ordinary intelligence who acts in accordance with ordinary practice and against whom the conduct of the defendant will be judged
Reasonable person
Why is the standard of care higher for professionals and experts?
Higher standard of care is applied to professionals who have a superior knowledge or skill regardless of experience.
Doctors for 1 year vs 8 years have the same standard of duty of care
How is the standard of care determined for minors?
- case by case
- compared to that of a child of “like age, intelligence and experience”
- a minor engaging in an adult activity, like a 16yo operating a motor vehicle, will be held to the same standard as an adult
The following are examples of what?
- Personal injury (physical or psychological aka pain and suffering (ie a rape case, children murdered, etc))
- Property damage (real and personal property)
- Economic loss (ie due to slip and fall the plaintiff is unable to work - lost wages that you can prove)
Damages
The following definition is called…
The factual link between one person’s actions and another person’s damages
Causation in fact
What two tests can be applied to prove causation?
- “but for” test
- material contribution of risk test
The following describes which test for causation?
A test for causation that asks whether the plaintiff’s injuries would have occurred but for the defendants careless conduct
“but for” test
The following describes which test for causation?
A test for causation where the plaintiff is unable to determine which of two or more negligent defendants caused their injury
Material contribution of risk test
The following defines what?
The reasonable foreseeability of one person’s actions in causing another person’s harm. The courts must determine whether a plaintiff’s damages were reasonably foreseeable, or whether they were too remote and not recoverable.
Causation in law
The following describes which principle in causation?
the principle that holds a wrongdoer liable for the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries, even if they are unexpectedly severe
“thin skull” doctrine
