Also known as: ordinarily prudent person · ordinarily prudent men · reasonable person · reasonable man · prudent person standard
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The objective standard of conduct to which a person must conform to avoid negligence liability. It requires conformity to the care that a person of ordinary prudence would exercise under like circumstances.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Oakley Osei left a loaded firearm accessible to children while hosting a gathering. When one child handled the weapon and caused a fatal shooting, the court measured Oakley's conduct against the ordinarily prudent man. Because the risk of serious harm was obvious and the deviation substantial, the conduct met the threshold for criminal negligence supporting involuntary manslaughter.
Orlando Okafor made an out-of-court statement admitting he had falsified loan documents. The court assessed whether an ordinarily prudent man in Orlando's position would have made the statement only if believing it true. The statement's tendency to expose him to civil liability satisfied the reasonable-person test for the hearsay exception.
Odin Obeng stored hazardous chemicals without reading safety labels and caused an explosion injuring a neighbor. The court asked whether an ordinarily prudent man in Odin's situation would have perceived the substantial risk. The failure to perceive the risk constituted a gross deviation, establishing negligence under the Model Penal Code definition.
Odilia Okamura, a sitting judge, accepted a paid speaking engagement at a political fundraiser. The ethics board evaluated whether an ordinarily prudent person would view the activity as undermining the judge's impartiality. The appearance created by the event required the judge to withdraw from the activity.
Oliver Okeke told a buyer that a commercial property had no environmental issues when he lacked any basis for the claim. The court determined whether an ordinarily prudent person would have been induced to purchase by the statement. The likelihood of reliance rendered the misrepresentation material.
Orla O'Malley drove through an intersection without checking for oncoming traffic and struck a pedestrian. The court measured Orla's conduct against the ordinarily prudent man under like circumstances. The failure to maintain a proper lookout constituted negligence.
The standard is objective. It measures conduct against what a person of ordinary prudence would do rather than the defendant's own personal abilities or beliefs.
The baseline remains the ordinarily prudent person, but a defendant with special skills may be held to a higher standard that incorporates those skills when relevant to the risk created.
Yes. The same objective benchmark appears in criminal negligence analysis, judicial ethics rules, contract materiality tests, and hearsay exception determinations.
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