Special Negligence Duties Based on Type of Defendant

Question 1

Children

Answer 1

children held to the standard of a child with like age, intelligence, and experience. This is subjective test. A child under 5 is usually without capacity to be negligent.

Question 2

Professionals

Answer 2

professional is required to possess the knowledge and skill of an average member of the profession or occupation in good standing.

Question 3

possessors of land

Answer 3

Duty owed to a plaintiff on dangerous land conditions depends on their status as an trespasser, licensee, or invitee.

Question 4

unknown trespassers

Answer 4

no duty owed.

Question 5

known trespassers - as to discovered or anticipated trespassers, the land possessor must warn of or make safe any conditions that are:

Answer 5

artificial
highly dangerous
concealed
known

(protect from known man-made death traps)

Question 6

Licensees

Answer 6

A licensee is one who enters onto the land with the possessor’s permission for their own purpose or business rather than for the possessor’s benefit.

Question 7

As to licensees, land possessor has a duty to warn of or fix hazards that are:

Answer 7

• concealed
• known in advance

Question 8

invitees

Answer 8

invitees enter onto the land in response to an invitation by the possessor of the land connected with business or enter as members of the public for a purpose for which the land is held open to the public.

Question 9

duty owed to invitees regarding hazards:

Answer 9

concealed

known to the land possessor in advance or could have been discovered by a reasonable inspection

Question 10

Attractive Nuisance

Answer 10

Most courts impose on a landowner the duty to exercise ordinary care to avoid a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm to children caused by dangerous artificial conditions on their property