Torts 25-31 Flashcards
What is the Standard of Care for Professionals?
A professional owes a duty to act with the knowledge and skill as an average member of that profession practicing in a similar community.
*A specialist is held to the care and skill of an average member of the profession practicing the specialty.
Priority: Low
What is the Standard of Care for Landowners?
They have to exercise reasonable care to ALL entrants upon their land, and take appropriate measures to avoid foreseeable risks.
*Some states determine the duty of care required based on the type of entrant (trespasser, licensee, invitee).
Priority: Medium
Undiscovered Trespasser vs. Anticipated Trespasser
Undiscovered Trespasser(one who enters the land without permission): NO duty is owed by the landowner.
Anticipated Trespasser(enters without permission but may be expected): The landowner must use reasonable care in operations on the property AND warn of highly dangerous artificial conditions that they know of.
Priority: Medium
Licensee vs. Invitee
Licensee (invited as social guests): Landowner must exercise reasonable care AND warn of (make safe) dangerous conditions the owner knows of but not apparent to the guest.
Invitee (invited on the property for business): Landowner owes all the duties he would to a Licensee, PLUS the duty to make reasonable inspections of the property to find/make safe non-obvious conditions.
Priority: Medium
What is the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine?
For child trespassers, landowners must make the premises reasonably safe or warn of hidden dangers on their land.
Landowners are held liable for harm if:
They know the condition is likely to cause death;
They know that children frequent the area;
That children are unlikely to discover the condition;
The risk of harm outweighs the expense of repair; AND
They fail to exercise reasonable care in eliminating the danger.
Priority: Low
When does Negligence Per Seapply?
When:
The statute’s purpose is to prevent the type of harm that the plaintiff suffered; AND
The plaintiff is in the class of persons the statute seeks to protect.
*If applicable, the duty and breach elements are established.
Two Exceptions: (1) When compliance with the statute would be more dangerous; (2) Compliance is impossible.
Priority: HIGH
Under the Traditional Test for Res Ipsa Loquitur, what must the plaintiff show?
That the injury typically does not occur in the absence of negligence;
The instrumentality (thing/object) which caused the injury was in the defendant’s exclusive control; AND
That Plaintiff not cause or contribute to the injury.
*If applicable, the breach element is established.
Priority: Low
