Reading Assignments 02

Negligence as a Cause of Action

Plaintiff must prove four elements:

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2. ??????????
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4. ??????????

Negligence as a Cause of Action

Plaintiff must prove four elements:

1. Duty
2. Breach
3. Causation
4. Harm

What proving these four elements looks like:

1. Duty - The defendant had a duty to the plaintiff.
2. Breach - The defendant breached that duty.
3. Causation - The defendant’s negligence caused this harm.
4. Harm - The harm is legally cognizable.

Reasonable care

Proving duty and breach when reasonable care is the duty:

1. Duty - The defendant had a duty to the plaintiff to exercise reasonable care when [insert defendant’s action].

2. Breach - The defendant breached that duty. Reasonable care under the circumstances was . Defendant did [Y].

Ways to determine reasonable care under the circumstances include:

​ Foreseeability

​ The Reasonable Person

The Reasonable Person Standard

Objective standard

Exceptions to objective standard: - Physical disability - Children - Expertise

Not exceptions to objective standard - Mental disability - Children engaged in adult activity - Old age & infirmity

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. v. Goodman

and

Pokora v. Wabash Railway Co.

and

Akins v. Glen Falls