Also known as: willful or wanton negligence · wanton negligence · wilful negligence · gross negligence · recklessness
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Conduct that consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk of serious harm to others.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Whitney White received a direct report that the overnight driver had nearly fallen asleep and that ice was forecast on the route. She ordered the driver to proceed anyway to avoid overtime costs. The bus later skidded and killed a passenger. Her decision supplies the conscious disregard that meets wilful or wanton negligence.
Wren Wallace received a written safety report stating that forklift speeds and missing barriers created an obvious probability of death. She approved the live stunt anyway to boost ratings. A contestant died when a forklift struck him. The approval demonstrates the conscious disregard required for wilful or wanton negligence.
Warren Woods operated a chemical tank that leaked toxic waste onto neighboring land. He knew the tank was corroded and ignored repeated repair orders. The contamination caused permanent damage. Because the harm resulted from recklessness, contributory negligence offers no defense.
Whitney Washington and an accomplice needed an elderly patient moved to reach a storage room. She injected a large unauthorized dose of sedative knowing it could cause respiratory arrest. The patient died. The injection meets the gross deviation standard of wilful or wanton negligence.
Walter Washington believed the warehouse floor was stable when he ordered heavy equipment moved across it. The floor collapsed and killed a worker. Because the mistake did not negate the recklessness element, the defense fails.
Wallace Webb and a partner entered a restricted lab after hours to steal equipment. He used a cord to restrain a security guard who confronted them. The guard died from asphyxiation. The reckless restraint during the confrontation meets the gross-deviation standard of wilful or wanton negligence for involuntary manslaughter.
It requires a gross deviation from reasonable care that creates a high risk of death or serious injury and shows conscious disregard. Ordinary negligence does not meet this threshold and supports only negligent homicide rather than manslaughter.
It bars the defense whenever the defendant's conduct is reckless rather than merely negligent. The plaintiff may still recover even if the plaintiff failed to exercise due care.
Only if the mistake negatives the recklessness element itself. A mistake that leaves the conscious disregard intact does not provide a defense.
…in addition to a mere want of ordinary care, the person injured . . . was, at the time of the collision, guilty of gross or wilful negligence, or was acting in violation of the law, and that such gross or wilful negligence or unlawful act contributed to the injury.” Mass. Gen. L. (1932) c. 160, § 234. That statute, like the…