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In life, things happen. Accidents take place, some of which cause injuries and even death. Randall Spivey and his team of Ft. Myers personal injury attorneys know that when accidents occur, those injured and their families want to know who will be held responsible for their damages. However, there are a number of considerations that must be taken into account when attempting to make a liability determination.

Quite often, people have a general idea of their rights, particularly if they have been hurt by someone else's wrongdoing. However, they may not appreciate the various legal nuances that come into play in different cases. That is why people who have sustained injuries because of someone else's actions are encouraged to seek legal guidance from knowledgeable injury lawyers who can fully explain how their case might be handled both in and/or out of court.

What Role Will the Standard of Care Play in Your Situation?

Some people have heard attorneys and others in the legal field refer to the "reasonable person" standard. But what does that mean? Consider this. Negligence involves a person's act (or failure to act) that causes injury to someone else. Still, as the common saying goes, "accidents happen." But, what differentiates everyday accidents from negligent acts is the standard of care that is required based on the incident at issue.

For instance, individuals who operate motor vehicles are required and expected to use the same level of care a reasonable person would when operating a vehicle on a roadway, to include paying attention and obeying traffic laws. But what if an individual who requires corrective lenses fails to wear those lenses and ends up hitting another vehicle, biker or pedestrian? He or she would likely be deemed negligent because reasonable people who wear corrective lenses would not operate a vehicle without wearing those lenses.

So, What's the Test?

The "reasonable person" is a fictitious individual who is often used in legal cases (as early as the mid-1850s in Brown v. Kendall, 60 Mass. 292 (1850)) to help resolve issues concerning how someone with ordinary sensibilities would act in certain instances, without taking into consideration his or her actual abilities. What that means is even an individual who is constantly careless or has a low level of intelligence can be held to the same standard as those who are not as careless or are more intelligent.

When parties are involved in litigation, the decision is typically left up to the jury as to whether or not a defendant has acted reasonably, and they usually consider the person's conduct in light of what he or she has experienced, actually knows or has perceived.

What About Children?

Children are not expected to act as reasonable adults would in various situations. However, children are held to a revised standard whereby children's acts are viewed in light of how other children of the same experience, age and intelligence act. With respect to negligence, a judge will determine if the child at issue has the capacity to commit a negligent act based on his or her age. If the judge deems the child capable, the jury will ultimately decide if he or she, in fact, was negligent.

If you or a loved one has been hurt and has questions about how the reasonable care standard might apply to your case, contact the lawyers at the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. as soon as possible.