conduct that falls below the standard established by the law of protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm
Reasonable person standard
degree of care htat a reasonable person would excercise under all circumstances
Reasonable - Children
must conform to conduct of a reasonable person of the same age, intelligence, and experienc under all circumstances
Reasonable - physical disability
must conform to same conduct of a reasonable person with the same disability
Reasonable - Mental
a mentally disabled person is held to the same standard of someone who is NOT mentally deficient
Reasonable - Superior Skills or Knowledge
if a person has superior skill or knowledge, the skills and knowledge are taken into account as circumstances in determining whether or not they have acted without reasonable care
Reasonable - Emergency
emergency is ataken into concideration as circumstances however the reasonable person standard still applies
Reasonable - Violaiton of Statute
if the statute applies the violaiton is neglegence per se in most states
Duty to Act
A person is under a duty to all others at al times to excercise reasonable care for the safety of the other persons property; however in special circumstances, no one is required to aid another in peril.
Duties to possessors of land
Duty to trespassors
not to injure intentionally
Duties to possessors of Land Duty to licencees
to warn of known dangerous conditions licensees are unlikely to discover for themselfs
Duties to possessors of Land Duty to invitees
to excercise reasonable care to protect invitees against dangerous conditions possessor should know of but invitees re unlikely to discover
Res Ispa Loquitur
The thing speaks for itslef
Permits the jury to infer both negligent conuct and causation
Factual Cause
the defendants conduct is a factual cause of the harm when the harm would not have occured without the conduct
Scope of Liability (proximate Cause)
liability is limited to those harms that result from the risks that made the defendants conduct tortious
Foreseeability
excludes liability for harms that were sufficiently unforseeable at the time of the defendants tortious conduct that they were not amoung the risks that amde the defendant negligent.
Superseding Cause
an intervening act that relives the defendant of liability
Burden of Proof
plaintiff must prove that the defendants negligent conduct caused harm to a legally protected interest
Harm to legally protected interest
courts determine which intersts are protected from negligenct interference
Contributory Negligence
failure of a plaintiff to excercise reasonable care for his own protection, which in a few states prevents the plaintiff from recovering anything
Comparitive Negligence
damages are divided between the parties in proportion to their degree of negligence; applies in almost all states
Assumption of risk
plaintiifs express consent to encounter a known danger; some states still apply implied assumption of the risk
Strict Liability
liability for nonintentional and nonnegligent conduct
Abnormally Dangerous Activity
strict liability is imposed for any activity
(1) creates a forseeable and highly significant risk of harm
(2) is not of common usage
Keeping of animals
strict liability is imposed for wild animals and usually for trespassing domestic animals
Contributory Negligence
is not a defense to strict liability
Comparitive Negligence
some state apply this doctrine to some strit liabilty cases
Assumption of risk
express assumption of risk is a defense to an action based upon strict liability; some states apply implied assumption of risk to strict liability cases.