Negligence - The Breach Element Flashcards
(16 cards)
Myers v. Heritage Enters, Inc.
2 “professionals” helped women with Hoyer lift, she broke bones by falling. Died two weeks later unrelated cause. Executor sued, negligent improper use of hoyer lift. Vicarious Liability.
treated like medical malpractice, but could be argued to be ordinary negligence. Changes the jury’s deliberation. Ordinary care is more amorphous, professional standard is more regimented.
Where a negligence claim is brought pursuant to a statute that imposes liability for care that is not “adequate,” an ordinary negligence standard applies.
Martin V. Evans
Evan’s tractor trailer backed into Martin. Evan was parked in a spot, went to back up his tractor trailer after looking all around him and checking all the appropriate blind spots but he still couldn’t see Martin, backed up and Martin was pinned between two trucks. Martin sustained injuries to his right arm and back.
The mere occurrence of an accident does not establish negligent conduct. Rather, the plaintiff has the burden of establishing, by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant engaged in conduct that deviated from the general standard of care expected under the circumstances, and that this deviation proximately caused actual harm.
Pingaro v. Rossi
meter reader bit by dog. more like negligence per se than anything else
Jones v. Port Authority
Facts:
• Mr. Jones was on a bus and injured himself when the bus stopped short. PAT said the accident never happened. PAT would have very high liability because common carriers owe a heightened duty of care to their passengers. Heightened care was not explained in jury instructions and jury didn’t find breach.
Issue:
• Must the heightened duty of care for common carriers be explicitly explained in jury instructions in order to adequately instruct the jury?
Rule:
• A trial court is to be given broad latitude in the choice of language used in charging a jury. Nevertheless, if the trial court’s charge does not adequately explain the principle involved, a new trial must be granted.
Campbell v. Kovich
Matter of law, summary judgement. Lawnmower. Exercised care. No projectile found.
Adams v. Bullock (Cardozo)
• Young boy swinging a string got his string caught on a trolley wire and was badly electrocuted. He was on the bridge that carried trains back and forth. Trial court verdict for the plaintiff, appellate court affirmed.
Unforeseeable. No way to mitigate the risk besides the actions taken.
A person must exercise reasonable care to avoid injury to others.
Vaughan v. Menlove
Haystack. Bought Insurance.
A person has a legal duty to use his or her property with the same level of ordinary care that would be exercised by a reasonable person.
Appelhans v. McFall
-year-old boy riding his bike on the sidewalk ran into a 66-year-old lady and she broke her hip. Old lady claimed that boy’s parents were negligent because 1) didn’t instruct their son how to properly use a bike and 2) didn’t supervise him while he rode the bike on a public roadway because they knew or should have known his youth would prevent him from being careful.
- ) Immune because of tender years doctrine.
- ) Not sufficient evidence that the Negligent Supervision or negligent entrustment(parent carelessly gives a child access to a dangerous instrumentality)
Condra v. Atlanta Orthopaedic Group
In a medical malpractice suit, a court may not exclude evidence of an expert witness’s own practices insofar as they relate to the applicable standard of care, unless the evidence is excludable on other evidentiary grounds.
Johnson v. Riverdale Anesthesia Associates
In a medical malpractice suit, evidence of an expert witness’s own practices may be excluded as irrelevant.
THE TJ HOOPER
A business may be liable for failing to adopt new technology, even if the industry has not widely adopted it, if the use of the technology constitutes reasonable prudence.
largey v. rothman
New Jersey courts should apply the “prudent patient” standard for determining whether informed consent was obtained prior to a medical procedure.
United States v. Carroll Towing Co.
Liability for negligence due to failure to take safety precautions exists if the burden of taking such precautions is less than the probability of injury multiplied by the gravity of any resulting injury, symbolized by B < PL = negligence liability.
Rhode Island Hosp. Trust Nat’l Bank v. Zapata Corp.
A bank’s payment procedure meets the standard of “ordinary care” under UCC § 4-406 where the procedure is consistent with banking industry practices and where a cost-benefit analysis shows the procedure to be reasonable.
Byrne v. Boadle
Barrel of flour. Burden is on defendant
If injury of a type that does not typically occur without negligence does occur, negligence is presumed from the mere fact of the occurrence.
Kambat v. St. Francis
A res ipsa loquitur instruction should be given in a medical malpractice suit where the circumstantial evidence is such that the jury could draw a reasonable inference of negligence using their common sense and experience.
