Torts Flashcards
Negligence
Negligence requires a duty, breach, causation, and damages.
Duty
A duty is owed to all foreseeable plaintiffs to act as a reasonable prudent person under the circumstances
Duty for healthcare providers
Medical professionals have a duty to act as other medical professionals with similar training and expertise in the same community
Duty for minors
A child has a duty to act as a reasonable child of similar age, intelligence, and experience. However, if the minor is engaging in an adult activity, the standard is of a reasonably prudent person.
Premises liability
The type of duty owed to a plaintiff depends on whether the plaintiff is considered to have been a business invitee, an unknown/undiscovered trespasser, or a known/discovered trespasser.
Business invitee
If the plaintiff is a business invitee (also known as an invited licensee), then owners of the property owe a duty to inspect and warn or make safe any known non-obvious dangerous conditions on the land.
Unknown/undiscovered trespasser
A duty is owed to refrain from intentional conduct which harms trespassers
Known/Discovered trespasser
Known/discovered trespassers are trespassers discovered within 24 hours of the injury. A duty is owed to warn of known dangerous non-obvious conditions on the land
Breach
Breach occurs when the actor did not conform to the standard of care.
Causation
There are two types of causation: actual cause, and proximate cause.
Actual cause
To determine if the breach was the actual cause of the injury one applies the but-for test: but for the defendant’s negligence, plaintiff would not have been injured. When there are multiple concurrent causes of injury, one uses the substantial factor test: the defendant’s negligence is a substantial factor in bringing about the harm.
Proximate cause
Proximate cause acts as a limit on a defendant’s liability to foreseeable harm which results from their breach of duty. There are two categories of proximate cause: direct and indirect.
Proximate cause - Direct
Defendants are liable for all injuries that occur directly from their actions when there is no break in the causal claim.
Proximate cause - indirect
Defendants are liable for injuries caused indirectly by their breach if those forces are foreseeable. Foreseeable forces which do not break the chain of proximate cause are intervening forces. Forces that are unforeseeable and break the chain of proximate cause are superseding causes, such as crimes, intentional torts, and acts of God.
Damages
Damages are not presumed, and include personal injuries and property damage.
Negligence per se
Negligence per se renders a defendant liable for violation of a statute when the plaintiff is a member of the class protected by the statute, and when the harm suffered is the type that the statute was intended to prevent.
Negligence per se - seatbelt
In Florida, failure to use an available and operational seatbelt is not considered negligence per se.
Good samaritan
In Florida, there is no duty to rescue, but is you rescue, you must act reasonably, otherwise it is considered a negligent rescue.
Good samaritan - medical professionals
Medical professionals are liable in emergency situations only if they act recklessly.
Defenses to negligence
Modified comparative negligence, sovereign immunity, parent-child immunity, and express assumption of the risk
Modified Comparative negligence
In Florida, a plaintiff’s recovery will be reduced by the percentage of their own negligence up to 50%. If the plaintiff is more than 50% negligent, then they are barred from recovering.
Joint and several liability
Abolished in Florida!!!