Standards of care (continued)

Although the duty owed to children is generally the same as that owed to adults, the exercise of ordinary care to a child may require different conduct than would be required to an adult. This different conduct may be required because the risk of injury to a child may be greater than that posed to an adult by the same act or condition.

Common carriers, such as operators of buses, taxis and streetcars, are charged with a high degree of care with respect to their passengers. Generally speaking, common carriers have to protect their passengers from injuries by strangers or intruders. The standard has been defined as that used by a very cautious, prudent and competent person under the same or similar circumstances. The reason for holding common carriers to this higher standard of care is that passengers need to feel safe while traveling. In determining whether an entity is classified as a common carrier, courts look to the entity’s primary function, and it must be determined whether the business of the entity is public transportation or whether the transportation is simply incidental to the entity’s primary purpose.

"Good Samaritans" are held to a lower standard of care. For instance, if a bystander attempts to help an injured person in a oil rig accident, construction accident, or trucking accident, he may only be held liable for negligence if he is wantonly or willfully negligent. The reason for the good Samaritan statute is to lower the standard of care to encourage both medically trained personnel and laypersons to render aid in emergency situations. Thus, the statute provides a waiver for actions constituting ordinary negligence. For a person to qualify for immunity from civil damages under this statute, a person who provides care in an emergency situation must show that he would not ordinarily receive payment under the circumstances under which the emergency care was provided.

Contact Corpus Christi personal injury lawyer Scott Nelson if you have been injured in a trucking accident and need representation.  Our firm represents personal injury clients in Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Brownsville, Laredo, and throughout Texas.