What is the standard of care for the duty in negligence?

• A. Professional judgement
• B. The standard of a reasonable prudent person under similar circumstances
• C. Strict liability
• D. The average professional in the community

Answer: (B)

In negligence, the duty is to exercise reasonable care to avoid foreseeable harm, and the standard used to measure that duty is the standard of a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances. This objective benchmark asks what a typical person would do in the same situation, not what the defendant hoped or believed. It sets breach by comparing the defendant’s conduct to how a reasonable person would act given the risks involved. While there are refinements for someone with a disability or in an emergency, the general rule remains the reasonable person standard. The other concepts—professional judgement, strict liability, or using an average professional as the standard—do not describe the broad standard for ordinary negligence.