The Four Elements
The four elements a plaintiff must prove to establish a prima facie case for negligence
What are Duty, Breach, Causation, and Damages?
The unforgiving and uniform standard of care applied in negligence cases, as established in Vaughan v. Menlove.
What is the objective standard (of a reasonable person)?
Judge Hand's famous formula for determining breach, where B is the burden, P is the probability, and L is the magnitude of the loss.
What is B < PxL?
According to T.J. Hooper, compliance with this is relevant evidence but is never dispositive or conclusive on the issue of negligence.
What is custom?
When a plaintiff relies on this doctrine, it conclusively establishes the defendant's duty and breach.
What is Negligence Per Se?
The element that asks: "did the defendant's conduct fall below the applicable standard of care?"
What is Breach?
When engaged in an adult-like activity like driving a motorcycle, a child is held to this standard of care.
What is the adult standard of care?
In the BPL formula, if the burden of prevention (B) is less than the probability of loss times the magnitude of loss (PxL), a defendant who fails to take the precaution is considered this.
What is negligent?
The root premise of the informed consent doctrine is this principle: "every human being of adult years and sound mind has a right to determine what shall be done with his own body."
What is Autonomy?
The two requirements for negligence per se are that the plaintiff is in the class the statute was meant to protect, and the harm suffered is this
What is the kind of harm the statute meant to prevent?
A key difference from intentional torts is that this element, specifically "actual damages," is required for negligence.
What are Damages?
A person with a physical disability is held to the standard of a reasonable person with this.
What is the same disability?
Unlike regular negligence, common carriers like airlines are held to this higher standard of care toward their passengers.
What is the "utmost care & vigilance of a very cautious person"?
This landmark case established a doctor's duty to disclose material information to a patient before a procedure
What is Canterbury v. Spence?
In Telda v. Ellman, violating a statute by walking on the "wrong" side of the highway was excused for this reason
What is "because it was safer to violate the statute than to follow it"?
The party who bears the burden to prove the defendant had a duty to use reasonable care.
Who is the plaintiff?
In tort law, a beginner lawyer is held to the same standard as this person.
What is a reasonably skilled person in the field (or a reasonable lawyer)?
A legal concept where liability is imposed without fault; reasonable care is not a defense.
What is Strict Liability?
This type of risk is one a reasonable patient would likely consider significant in deciding whether to have a treatment.
What is a material risk?
Statutes making it a crime for a bar to serve an obviously intoxicated person.
What are Dram Shop Statutes?
The two components that must be proven to establish the "Causation" element.
What are Cause in Fact and Proximate Cause?
Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, a company is vicariously liable for an employee's tort as long as the employee was acting within this
What is the scope of employment?
The economic goal of the tort system is to find the most socially efficient mix of safety features, which is achieved by maximizing this formula.
What is U - (CAP + CA + AE)?
U = utility (money, anything you value)
CAP = cost of accident prevention (B)
CA = cost of accidents still going to occur (P)
Administrative Expenses of running a torts system (paying judges salaries, court time, attorney fees, jury time)
This exception to the disclosure doctrine applies when a doctor reasonably believes informing a patient of risks will cause adverse psychosomatic consequences.
What is the Paternalistic Exception?
The reason not having a driver's license is not evidence of negligence per se.
What is that there is no causation between having a license and exercising reasonable care?