Also known as: negligence principles · negligence
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Conduct falling below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. Criminal negligence requires a gross deviation from the care a reasonable person would exercise that creates a high risk of death or serious bodily injury.
Travis managed a hotel and disabled carbon monoxide detectors to stop nuisance alarms despite knowing the shared ventilation with guest rooms. A guest died from gas buildup. The death resulted from Travis's gross departure from reasonable care and supported conviction for involuntary manslaughter.
After a guest fell on a wet lobby floor, the hotel installed new mats and warning signs. In the guest's later negligence suit, the court excluded evidence of those changes when offered to show the floor had been unsafe before the fall.
A driver sped through a residential area while texting and created an unavoidable choice between hitting a pedestrian or swerving into a parked car. Because the driver had negligently brought about the situation, the justification defense was unavailable in the resulting prosecution.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A landlord hired an independent contractor to repair a retained common stairway but the contractor left loose boards. A tenant fell and was injured. The landlord remained liable for the contractor's failure to maintain the area in reasonably safe condition.
A local business owner sued a newspaper for a false story about a public controversy. Because the plaintiff was not a public figure, the court required proof that the newspaper acted negligently in publishing the statements rather than imposing strict liability.
A landlord leased part of a building but kept control of the heating system and hired a contractor to fix a leak. The contractor's negligent repair caused carbon monoxide to enter a tenant's unit. The landlord was held liable to the tenant for the resulting harm.
Criminal negligence requires a substantially greater departure from the conduct of a reasonable person than the level that supports civil liability. The deviation must create a high risk of death or serious bodily harm.
The evidence may be admitted when offered for a purpose other than proving negligence, such as impeachment or proving ownership, control, or the feasibility of precautionary measures.
Yes. When the actor was reckless or negligent in bringing about the situation requiring a choice of harms, the justification is unavailable in a prosecution for any offense for which recklessness or negligence suffices to establish culpability.
A private plaintiff must prove at least negligence and may recover presumed or punitive damages only upon proof of actual malice.
…which are compensatory in natureapparently requires proof of actual malice under Alabama law, and the judge charged that "mere negligence or carelessness is not evidence of actual malice or malice in fact, and does not justify an award of exemplary or punitive damages." He refused to charge, however, that the jury must be…