Also known as: degree of care · standards of care
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A negligence concept under which the amount of care required of an actor increases with the level of risk or the special responsibilities undertaken. The standard remains that of a reasonable person under the circumstances, but facts such as common-carrier status or handling of dangerous instrumentalities demand a greater quantum of caution.
Dwight Dorsey, appointed personal representative, discovered that an heir's address was readily obtainable from the property manager yet sent no notice of appointment. Dorsey then filed a verified closing statement without addressing an outstanding security-deposit claim. The court held that Dorsey failed to meet the trustee-level standard of care required for expeditious settlement and proper notice.
Darrell Duncan sued a cigarette manufacturer after developing lung cancer, alleging the warnings failed to disclose known risks. Evidence showed the company possessed internal studies but issued only minimal labels. The jury measured the manufacturer's conduct against the heightened degree of care expected when marketing a product known to cause serious harm.
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Diane Dawson was injured when she fell on a worn spot at a skating rink. The rink argued she assumed the risk by choosing to skate. The court instructed the jury that the rink owed the ordinary degree of care to keep the premises safe and that any assumption defense merged into the negligence analysis rather than creating a separate heightened standard.
Devon Drake, an investor, relied on audited financial statements prepared by an accounting firm for a company that later collapsed. The firm had performed only cursory testing of key accounts. The court held that the auditors owed a limited duty measured by the degree of care customarily exercised by professionals in similar engagements, not an extraordinary standard.
Damian Decker, a guest at a private home, slipped on a wet tile floor the host knew was hazardous. The host had not warned guests or placed a mat. The court measured the host's conduct by the ordinary degree of care owed to a licensee, rejecting any argument that social hosts must exercise a higher degree of vigilance.
Demetrius Douglas, a private citizen, sued a magazine for a false report accusing him of criminal conduct. The magazine had published the story after a single unverified source. The court required the plaintiff to prove the publisher acted with a degree of care falling below that of a reasonably prudent journalist under the circumstances.
Most jurisdictions reject the language of formal degrees of care as a matter of law. The standard remains reasonable care under the circumstances. Greater risk or special relationships simply require a greater amount of that same care.
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The phrase describes the factual reality that carriers must exercise more caution because they have accepted custody of passengers and control the means of preventing harm. It does not create a separate legal standard. Liability still turns on whether the carrier acted as a reasonably careful carrier would under the same conditions.
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A personal representative must observe the standards applicable to trustees. That fiduciary obligation requires the representative to act with the care a prudent trustee would exercise when managing and distributing estate assets for the benefit of successors.
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…to understand what is constitutionally wrong with assessing punitive damages to deter a publisher from departing from those standards of care ordinarily followed in the publishing industry, particularly if common-law malice is also shown. I note also the questionable premise that "juries assess punitive damages in wholly…