Negligence: Duty

Duty requires defendant to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances to avoid foreseeable risks of harm.

Related Negligence rules

• Standard of Care: Reasonable PersonStandard is objective; mental impairments irrelevant; physical disabilities incorporated.
• Custom EvidenceCustom is relevant but not conclusive of reasonable care.
• Professionals StandardProfessionals must meet the skill and knowledge of the average practitioner in the community.
• Informed ConsentDoctors must disclose risks a reasonable patient would consider material.
• Negligence Per SeViolation of a safety statute establishes duty and breach if plaintiff is in protected class and risk matches…
• Duty to RescueGenerally no duty to rescue absent special relationship or assumption of duty.
• Special RelationshipsRelationships like carrier-passenger or innkeeper-guest create affirmative duties of protection.
• Negligent Infliction of Emotional DistressNIED requires physical danger, zone-of-danger exposure, or bystander presence with close relationship.

Part of Torts on Core Legal Rules — foundational MBE-tested principles with primary-source citations.