SportRisk ‘Sweaty Palms’
November 17, 2014
6. Standard of Care
The next step in the 4-part test to determine if there’s been Negligence is to answer the question:
Did the Defendant breach the ‘Standard of Care’?
If the answer is ‘Yes’ – then there may be Negligence (still 2 more tests to go!)
If answer is ‘No’ then there is no Negligence (because the 4-part test requires 4 ‘yes’ responses for there to be negligence).
However, the tricky part is this: what is the standard?
The courts will spend a lot of time trying to determine the answer to this question!
Why? – because there are not a lot of written ‘standards’ out there.
This is such an important issue that it needs more time to explore – so we’ll return to this after looking at the last two tests: ‘Damage’ and ‘Proximate Cause’.
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November 10, 2014
5. Duty of Care
You owe a duty of care to everyone that uses your facilities and/or participates in your programs. This means that as soon as they walk in your door, you ‘have to be careful with them’.
Sometimes this is referred to as the ‘Foreseeability Test’.
If you end up in court as a result of someone getting injured in your facility, the judge will ask you – could you have foreseen that this was going to happen? If the answer is ‘yes’ then that means you owed that person a duty of care.
So the answer is ‘yes’ to the first of the 4-point test for negligence (see blog #4). Three more tests to go!
What it means: You have to think through your programs and ask the question – what can foreseeably go wrong?
(To follow this blog – go to ‘blog’ on the top right side of the SportRisk website)
October 30, 2014
To follow blog on Negligence Simplified:
Click on ‘blog’ at top right of SportRisk website
Scroll down to first blog in series: Negligence Definitions
4. Has there been Negligence?
The courts will look at 4 Questions:
- Did Defendant owe Plaintiff a Duty of Care?
- Did Defendant breach the Standard of Care?
- Did Plaintiff suffer any injury or Damage?
- Was Defendant’s behavior the Proximate (Direct) Cause of the Plaintiff’s damage?
THERE IS NEGLIGENCE
IF ANSWER IS YES TO ALL FOUR
Next blog: Duty of Care
Questions/Comments?
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October 29, 2014
To follow blog on Negligence Simplified:
Click on ‘blog’ at top right of ‘SportRisk’ website
Scroll down to first blog in the series: Negligence Definitions
3. How is Negligence Established?
The law courts will look at 3 issues:
1. Has there been Negligence?
2. Who is liability for the Negligence?
3. Can the plaintiff escape the liability?
Next blog: Issue #1: Has there been Negligence?
October 27, 2014
To follow blog on Negligence:
Click on ‘blog’ at top right of SportRisk website
Scroll down to first blog in series: Negligence Definitions
2. Reasonable Person Test
What is Negligence?
When an employee (or volunteer)
- Does something which a reasonable person would not do
or
- Fails to do something which a reasonable person would do.
So what’s reasonable?? We’re getting to that…
October 27, 2014
1. Definitions of Negligence
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Unintentional harm on others as a result of an insufficient standard of care.
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Conduct falling below the acceptable standard (sometimes referred to as the “reasonable person” standard).
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The failure to exercise that degree of care which is reasonable under the circumstances.
or quite simply: Not being careful enough