The General Duty of Care in Negligence Flashcards
(1) DUTY OF CARE
a duty of care is owed to all foreseeable plaintiffs; if the D’s conduct creates an UNREASONABLE RISK OF INJURY to persons in the position of the P, the general duty of care extends from the D to the P.
the extent of the duty is determined by the applicable standard of care – so ask yourself 2 questions:
(1) to whom do you owe a duty?
(2) what is the applicable standard of care?
what is the prima facie case of NEGLIGENCE?
1) a DUTY on the part of the defendant to CONFORM TO A SPECIFIC STANDARD OF CONDUCT for the protection of the Plaintiff against unreasonable risk of injury;
2) a BREACH of that duty by the defendant
3) CAUSATION –> the breach is the ACTUAL AND PROXIMATE CASUE of the Plaitniff’s injury
4) Damages
who is a duty of care owed to?
a duty of care is owed ONLY to FORESEEABLE PLAINTIFFS - the class of persons who were foreseeably endangered by the defendant’s negligent conduct. (i.e in the FORESEEABLE ZONE OF DANGER)
who may be classified as a “foreseeable plaintiff”?
a) rescuers
b) viable fetus / prenatal injuries
c) intended beneficiaries of economic transactions
foreseeable plaintiffs - a) rescuers
a rescuer is a foreseeable plaintiff WHEN the defendant negligently put themselves OR a third person in peril (danger invites rescue)
aka the rescuer would be able to bring a negligence action against the defendant that they are rescuing
what is the “firefighter’s rule”?
firefighters and police officers are barred by the “firefighter’s rule” from RECOVERING for injuries caused by the inherent risks of their jobs
foreseeable plaintiffs - b) prenatal injuries
a duty of care is owed to a VIABLE FETUS.
In cases of failure to diagnose a CONGENITAL DEFECT or PROPERLY PERFORM a contraceptive procedure - the child may NOT recover for “wrongful life”, but the parents may recover damages in a “wrongful birth” or “wrongful pregnancy” action for any additional medical expenses AND for pain and suffering from labor
**ordinary child-rearing expenses, however, cannot be recovered
foreseeable plaintiffs - c) intended beneficiaries of economic transactions
a third party for whose economic benefit a legal or business transaction was made (i.e. a beneficiary of a will) MAY be a foreseeable plaintiff)
what is the basic standard of care?
the basic standard of care is the REASONABLY PRUDENT PERSON
All persons owe a duty to behave with the same care as a hypothetical reasonably prudent person in the conduct of their activities to avoid injuring foreseeable victims.
is the ‘reasonably prudent person’ standard objective or subjective?
the reasonably prudent person standard is an OBJECTIVE standard - measured against what the average person would do.
are a defendant’s mental deficiencies and inexperience taken into account in the reasonably prudent person standard?
no!! a defendant’s mental deficiencies and inexperience are NOT taken into account (i.e. low intelligence is NO excuse!)
what are 2 exceptions to the ‘reasonably prudent person’ standard of care?
1) exception for superior skill or knowledge
2) exception for physical characteristics where relevant
1) exception for superior skill or knowledge
while the reasonably prudent person standard sets a minimum level of care – a defendant who has KNOWLEDGE or EXPERIENCE SUPERIOR to that of an average person is required to EXERCISE that experience
2) exception for physical characteristics where relevant
the “reasonably prudent person” is considered to have the same PHYSICAL characteristics as the defendant - IF those physical characteristics are RELEVANT to the claim
(one is expected to know one’s physical abilities and to exercise the care of a person with such knowledge – i.e. a blind person should act as a reasonably prudent person who cannot see and not attempt to do stuff they shouldn’t - i.e. drive a car)
