negligence Flashcards
negligence elements
1) duty of care
2) breach of duty
3) causation
4) damages
default standard of care
reasonably prudent person under the circumstances re. foreseeable plaintiffs
foreseeable plaintiffs
those within the zone of danger
zone of danger
area around D’s activities in which a P could foreseeably be injured
rescuer’s exception
if D puts himself or another in danger and a third person attempts to rescue, D can be held liable for rescuer’s injuries even if unforeseeable
doesn’t apply to emergency personnel if injury results from a risk inherent to the job
standard of care for children
reasonable child of similar age, education, intelligence, and experience; generally young children (i.e. under 5) lack capacity to be held negligent
adult activities exception
children engaged in adult activities must conform to an adult standard of care in that activity
standard of care for common carriers and innkeepers
utmost care standard; liable for even slight negligence to passengers or guests
professional standard of care
must act with the knowledge and skill of a member of their profession in good standing in similar communities; medical professionals held to national standard of care
when statutory standard of care applies
1) harm suffered is the type the statute was meant to prevent
2) P is in class of victims statute was meant to protect
3) statute applies a standard of conduct
landowner duty of care for unknown/undiscovered trespassers
no duty owed
landowner duty of care for anticipated trespassers
owner has reason to believe of trespassers
reasonable care in carrying out activities; duty to make safe or warn of known, concealed manmade hazards
attractive nuisance doctrine
owner must take reasonable care to eliminate dangers on property or protect children from those dangers if:
1) owner is aware or should be aware of dangerous condition
2) knows or should know children are in the vicinity
3) condition is likely to cause injury given a child’s inability to appreciate risk
4) magnitude of risk outweighs its utility or expense of remedying it
licensee
one who enters land with owner’s permission for his own purpose or business (e.g., relatives, friends, guests)
invitee
one who enters land held open to the public or who enters with owner’s permission to confer a commercial benefit (e.g., store patron, concert-goer)
duty of care for licensee
reasonable care in activities carried out on property; duty to make known dangerous conditions reasonably safe
no duty to inspect
duty of care for invitees
reasonable care in activities carried out on property and duty to make known conditions reasonably safe
duty to conduct a reasonable inspection for non-obvious dangers
res ipsa loquitor
P must show
1) inference of negligence
2) attributable to D
3) injury not attributable to P
eggshell plaintiff rule
D takes P as he finds him and is liable for the full extent of P’s injuries, regardless of whether or not they are foreseeable
non-recoverable damages
1) interest from date of damage in personal injury cases
2) attorneys’ fees
partial/modified comparative negligence
P can only recover damages if he was less than 50% at fault
pure comparative negligence
P can recover damages even if he was more than 50% at fault
contributory negligence
P is barred from recovery if D establishes that P’s negligence contributed to her injuries
last clear chance defense
P can rebut D’s contributory negligence claim by proving D had the last clear chance to avoid the injury-causing accident
