Negligence Flashcards
Negligence Prima Facie Case
- Duty
- Breach
- Causation
- Damages
For duty you must have: (2)
- A foreseeable plaintiff (P will almost ALWAYS be foreseeable on bar)
- A standard of care
Foreseeable P’s a matter of LAW (2)
- Rescuers
2. Viable fetuses
Reasonable person and disabilities
D’s physical characterisitcs WILL be taken into account - D must act in a manner reasonable to that which someone who had the same handicap would act.
Children’s Standard:
Child of like age, intelligence, and experience. This is a subjective standard. In GA a child under 13 cannot be liable EVEN IF participating in an adult activity.
The Professional Standard: A reasonable professional must exercise:
the degree of care and skill ordinarily exercised under similar conditions by persons employed in the same or similar professions as determined by a national standard. (Excluding facilities)
Specialists expertise is taken into account and they are held to an even higher standard.
The Common Carrier/Innkeeper Standard
They will be held liable for even SLIGHT negligence. CAREFUL!
To get the standard of care you must be a passenger or a guest.
But in GA this liability may be avoided in respect to property losses by posting a notice.
Duty of Care to Discovered Trespasser (3)
Responsible for:
- Artificial conditions,
- Involving a risk of SERIOUS injury,
- That the o/o knows of.
Duty of Care to a Licensee (2)
Responsible for:
- Artificial AND natural conditions,
- That the o/o knows of.
Duty of Care to an Invitee (2)
- All dangerous conditions,
2. That the o/o SHOULD know of.(Must make reasonable inspection)
Negligence per se: In GA, violating criminal statues enacted before1 July 10:
There will be a conclusive presumption of negligent conduct on the D’s part.
For criminal statutes enacted after that the right to a civil action must be expressly stated in the statute for negligence per se.
2 Exceptions for compliance with a statute
- Compliance would be more dangerous.
2. Compliance would be impossible.
2 elements to be able to apply statutory standards of negligence (negligence per se)
- P must fall within the protected class.
2. Statute must be designed to prevent this type of harm.
Negligent infliction of emotional distress P must show either:
- Some impact resulting in a physical injury or non-physical personal injury, or
- Conduct was malicious, willful, or wanton
Infant trespasser: Duty to
warn or make safe artificial conditions if foreseeable risk to child outweighs expense of eliminating danger.
Res Ipsa Loquitur: Applies ONLY to ordinary negligence cases (3)
- Accident that caused injury is not type that occurs w/o negligence.
- Negligence is attributable to D (usually by showing exclusive control)
- Injury was not P’s fault.
Actual cause
Requires P to show that he would not have been injured BUT FOR the D’s act.
Proximate cause (Legal Causation)
If one of the reasons that make a D’s act negligent is a greater risk of of a particular harmful result occuring, and that harmful result does occur, D is generally liable.
A person is only liable for those harms that are normal incidents of and w/i the increased risks caused by his acts.
Direct cause cases occur when there is an:
uninterrupted chain of events from D’s negligence to P’s injury: D is liable for ALL foreseeable results (and almost all harmful results are foreseeable.)
Indirect cause cases
An intervening force comes into motion after the time of D’s negligent act and combines with it to cause injury to P.
If D’s negligence created a foreseeable risk that an intervening force would contribute to P’s harm, D is liable for harm caused.
Damages: Injured party entitled to compensation for all: (2)
- economic loss. (special damages)
- past and future non-economic losses (general damages)
Include: medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and suffering, impaired future earning capacity, and property damage.
Modified comparative negligence (GA STANDARD)
P may not recover if she is 50% OR MORE responsible for the injury or damages claimed.
Res ipsa loquitor
injury is a type that would not normally occur absent negligence and it usually occurs because of negligence of the manufacturer.
Products liability case based on negligence
P must show negligent conduct by D leading to the supplying of a defective product by the D.
Attractive Nuisance (4)
- Dangerous condition present on the land of which the owner is or should be aware;
- Owner knows or should know that kids are in the vicinity of the dangerous condition;
- Condition is likely to cause injury, (i.e., is dangerous, because of the child’s inability to appreciate the risk); and
- Cost of fixing the situation is slight compared with the magnitude of the risk.
To prove breach of duty in a products liability action, the plaintiff must show: (2)
(i) negligent conduct by the defendant leading to
(ii) the supplying of a defective product by the defendant
Comparative Negligence
In every case where contributory negligence is shown, the trier of fact weighs plaintiff’s negligence against that of defendant and reduces plaintiff’s damages accordingly.
For assumption of risk to be available as a defense, the plaintiff must have (2)
- known of the risk and
2. voluntarily assumed it.
Dependent Intervening Forces are:
normal responses or reactions to the situation CREATED BY defendant’s negligent act.
Dependent intervening forces are almost always foreseeable.