Section 12 - Negligence

A person causes an event negligently, where, without intending to cause the event, that person causes it by a voluntary act, done without the skill and care that are reasonably necessary under the circumstances.

Illustrations

1. A, a woman who does not have knowledge of midwifery, acts as a midwife, and through her want of skill she causes death. Here, if A knew that a properly qualified midwife or surgeon could be procured, the fact of A so acting without possessing proper skill and without a necessity for so acting, is evidence of negligence, although it appears that she did her best. But if the emergency was sudden, and a properly qualified midwife or surgeon could not be procured, A has not acted negligently, provided she did the best she could under the circumstances.

2. A chemist sells poison so made up as to be liable to be mistaken for a harmless medicine. This is evidence of negligence.

3. If the law directs poisons to be sold only in bottles of a particular kind, and the chemist sells poison in a common bottle, this is evidence of negligence, even though the common bottle is labeled “Poison”.

4. A, knowing a horse to be dangerously vicious, rides it through a crowd, and it becomes excited by the noise and throng, and kicks B. A is negligent within the meaning of this section, although A had and used all possible skill in riding.

5. An acrobat carries a child on a tight-rope at a great height. The acrobat happens to miss a foot and the child is killed. The acrobat has acted negligently, although the acrobat had used all possible skill in rope-walking.