A friend sent me a news clipping describing a tragic but interesting legal case.
A 10-year-old girl named Margaret was seriously injured when she was struck by a car while attempting to cross a street.
Margaret had safely crossed to the center of the street and was waiting for traffic to clear when a truck driver stopped and motioned her to cross in front of him. She did, and was struck by a car passing in the lane next to the truck.
The interesting feature of Margaret’s personal injury case was that she sued the truck driver for her injuries.
The truck driver was indignant. He insisted he only meant to let the young girl know it was safe to pass in front of his truck; he could not guarantee that other cars on the road would stop, or that an accident could be avoided. He said Margaret was trying to turn an act of courtesy into something wrong.
Margaret won the personal injury case. A jury believed the truck driver was careless in motioning for her to cross without first ensuring it could be done safely. Margaret was only a child and relied on instructions from an adult. She testified in court that she interpreted the truck driver’s signal as an assurance that it was safe to complete the crossing.
Arizona law imposes a duty of appropriate care on everyone who undertakes to do something for another person. It does not matter that the gesture may be an act of courtesy—it must be done with proper care.
Common sense should be your guide in deciding what is appropriate care under any set of circumstances. The law requires that you be especially cautious when dealing with children, particularly when there is a high risk of accident and injury.
Had Margaret been 21 instead of 10, the result likely would have been very different. |
