Standard of care
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| Tort law II |
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| Part of the common law series |
| Negligent torts |
| Negligence · Negligent hiring |
| Negligent entrustment · Malpractice |
| Negligent infliction of emotional distress |
| Doctrines affecting liability |
| Duty of care · Standard of care |
| Proximate cause · Res ipsa loquitur |
| Calculus of negligence · Eggshell skull |
| Vicarious liability · Attractive nuisance |
| Rescue doctrine · Duty to rescue |
| Comparative responsibility |
| Duties owed to visitors to property |
| Trespassers · Licensees · Invitees |
| Defenses to negligence |
| Contributory negligence |
| Last clear chance |
| Comparative negligence |
| Assumption of risk · Intervening cause |
| Strict liability |
| Ultrahazardous activity |
| Product liability |
| Nuisance |
| Other areas of the common law |
| Contract law · Property law |
| Wills and trusts |
| Criminal law · Evidence |
- For the English law, see standard of care in English law.
In tort law, the standard of care is the degree of prudence and caution required of an individual who is under a duty of care. A breach of the standard is necessary for a successful action in negligence.
The requirements of the standard are closely dependent on circumstances. Whether the standard of care has been breached is determined by the trier of fact, and is usually phrased in terms of the reasonable person. It was famously described in Vaughn v. Menlove (1837) as whether the individual "proceed[ed] with such reasonable caution as a prudent man would have exercised under such circumstances".
In certain industries and professions, the standard of care is determined by the standard that would be exercised by the reasonably prudent manufacturer of a product, or the reasonably prudent professional in that line of work. Such a test (known as the 'Bolam Test') is used to determine whether a doctor is liable for medical malpractice.
A special standard of care also applies to children, who are held to the behavior that is reasonable for a child of similar age, experience, and intelligence.
Attractive nuisance · Calculus of negligence · Caveat emptor · Caveat venditor · Contra proferentem · Duty of care · Eggshell skull · Fair use · First-sale doctrine · Good-faith exception · Living tree doctrine · Ignorantia juris non excusat · Implied powers · Implied terms of a contract · Odious debt · Plain view doctrine · Proximate cause · Res ipsa loquitur · Sovereign immunity · Stare decisis or Precedence rule · Standard of care · Unclean hands · Vicarious liability ·
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