Unintentional Torts:
Negligence
Dan Carew and Ryan Ward
Do Now:
 Balthazar is using headphones to listen to his Mp3
player while driving. He doesn’t like the song he
is listening to (probably “Black & Yellow”) and
looks away from the road to select a better song.
He doesn’t see the car in front of him stop and
crashes into it. The woman in the car that he hits
suffers a broken leg and a concussion.
 Did he do anything wrong?
 What should he have done differently?
C’mon, what’s up with those black rims!?
What is negligence?
 Negligence can be defined as a failure to use
reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury
to another.
In order to show that someone has acted
negligently, you have to prove four
elements:
 Duty
 Breach
 Causation
 Damages
Duty or Legal Obligation
 The defendant had a legal duty or legal
obligation to exercise due care to the plaintiff.
 Due care is the amount of care that a reasonable
person would exercise under similar
circumstances.
The Reasonable Person
 A reasonable person would consider
 (1) the burden of taking precautions;
 (2) the likelihood of harm; and
 (3) the seriousness of the harm.
Breach
 The defendant’s conduct violated that
duty because:
 His or her conduct fell short of the
standard of care.
 Or, in other words, he or she did not act
like a reasonable person would have.
Cause
 Cause In Fact: The breach actually
caused an injury.
 Can you trace the injury back to the defendant’s
actions?
 Proximate Cause: The connection
between the breach and the injury was
foreseeable and not too remote.
 Could the defendant have foreseen or guessed
that his or her actions would cause an injury?
Damages
 The plaintiff suffered
actual damages (medical
costs, lost wages, pain
and suffering, etc.).
Yolanda and Her Aggressive
Puppy
 Yolanda’s dog Lucy is very
aggressive and has bitten people in
the past. One day she takes Lucy
to the park and let’s her run free.
Lucy runs around the corner and
bites Aaron’s leg while he’s
shooting hoops. Aaron is rushed to
the hospital where he learns that
he will need to stay overnight and
have surgery. His medical bills
reach $15,000 and he had to miss
a week of work while his leg
healed. The doctor said he’ll never
have full use of his leg.
Analyzing the Case
 Did Yolanda have a legal obligation?
 Did she breach that duty?
 Did her breach actually cause Aaron’s
injury?
 Could she have foreseen that Lucy
would bite someone like Aaron?
 Are there damages in this case?
Kramer's Coffee Burn Fiasco !
 While watching the videos, think about whether all of
the elements of negligence are present.
The Elements of Negligence
Remember: All Four Elements Need to be
Proved!
 Duty
 Breach
 Causation
 Damages
Was Java City Negligent?


What would Kramer
argue?
Can he prove all of
the elements?


What would Java
City argue in its
defense?
What is their best
argument?
 What does the
judge need to
consider?
What if Kramer only
showed 3 of the 4
elements?
Liebeck v. McDonalds
 In 1994, a 79-year-old woman bought a cup of coffee from the
drive thru window at McDonalds. She put the cup between her
knees and tried to open the lid to add cream and sugar. The
coffee spilled and caused second and third degree burns to over
16% of her body. She spent 8 days in the hospital and had to
undergo very painful skin graft operations. A jury found that
McDonalds was liable, and awarded her $160,000 in damages.
The Radio Station Disaster
 Break into your groups and in your
assigned roles, discuss the Radio Station
hypothetical.
The Ruling
 How did the
judges rule?
 Was the radio
station negligent
or not?