General Duty of Care (Negligence) Bar Prep

Question 1

Elements of Negligence

Answer 1

(1) Duty

(2) Breach

(3) Causation

(4) Damages

Question 2

When confronted with a negligence question, you should always ask:

Answer 2

(1) To whom do you owe a duty?

(2) What is the applicable standard of care

Question 3

Duty is owed only to ______

Answer 3

Foreseeable plaintiffs (class of persons who were foreseeably endangered by the defendant’s negligent conduct_

Question 4

When is a rescuer a foreseeable plaintiff?

Answer 4

When the defendant negligently put themselves or a third person in peril

Question 5

Firefighter’s Rule

Answer 5

Firefighters and police officers are barred from recovering for injuries caused by the inherent risks of their jobs

Question 6

Basic standard of care for negligence

Answer 6

Reasonably prudent person standard (objective)

Question 7

T or F: Defendant’s mental deficiencies and inexperience are taken into account

Answer 7

False, low intelligence is not an excuse

Question 8

Exception for superior knowledge

Answer 8

A defendant that has knowledge that is superior to that of an average person is required to exercise that experience

Question 9

Physical characteristics exception

Answer 9

RPP is considered to have the same physical characteristics as the defendant if those physical characteristics are relevant to the claim

ex: reasonably prudent blind person