The General Duty of Care in Negligence

Question 1

Elements of a Prima Facie Negligence Case

Answer 1

• Duty - on the part of the def to conform to a specific standard of conduct for protection of pl against an unreasonable risk of injury
• Breach - of that duty by def
• Cause - def’s breach is the actual and proximate cause of pl’s injury
• Damages

Question 2

Duty of Care - General Concept

Answer 2

• owed to all foreseeable pls
• if def’s conduct creates unreasonable risk of injury to persons in position of pl, the general duty of care extends from def to pl
• extent of duty determined by applicable standard of care

Question 3

Core Q’s to Answer for Negligence

Answer 3

• to whom do you owe a duty?
• what is the applicable standard of care?

Question 4

Duty of Care and Foreseeable Pls

Answer 4

• duty of care owed only to foreseeable pls
  -> i.e. the class of persons who were foreseeably endangered by def’s negligent conduct

Question 5

Foreseeable Pls - Rescuers

Answer 5

• rescuer = a foreseeable pl when def negligently put themselves or a third person in peril (danger invites rescue)

Question 6

Firefighter’s Rule

Answer 6

• firefighters + police officers are barred by this rule from recovering for injuries caused by inherent risks of their jobs

Question 7

Foreseeable Pls - Intended Beneficiaries of Economic Transactions

Answer 7

• a third party for whose economic benefit a legal or business transaction was made (ex: beneficiary of a will) may be a foreseeable pl

Question 8

Basic Standard of Care

Answer 8

• 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
• objective standard
  -> measured against what average person would do
• def’s mental disabilities + inexperience are NOT taken into account

Question 9

Basic Standard of Care - Exception for Superior Skill or Knowledge

Answer 9

• def who has knowledge or expertise superior to avg person is required to exercise that experience

Question 10

Basic Standard of Care - Exception for Physical Characteristics

Answer 10

• “reasonably prudent person” is considered to have the same physical characteristics as def if those physical characteristics are relevant to the claim
• so, you’re essentially held to the standard of a reasonable person with that physical characteristic
• defs are expected to know own physical abilities though + exercise the care of a person with such knowledge (ex: a blind person should act as a reasonably prudent person who cannot see + not attempt to drive)