The reasonable person standard is a legal ideal created based on the anticipated actions of the average person in your situation. What is reasonable changes according to your knowledge and experience, although it does not vary according to such factors as intelligence. However, juries usually take this into account when making a decision about liability and negligence. If it is determined that you did act reasonably, even if an injury occurred, you are not usually liable for damages. A car accident attorney Orange County residents trust may be able to help you if you are uncertain of who is liable for injuries that occurred during a car accident. If you are a driver and you have trouble seeing the road without your glasses, you owe it to pedestrians and other drivers to act reasonably by wearing your glasses while driving on the road. If you do not wear your glasses and you hit a jaywalking pedestrian with your car, you are considered liable even though the pedestrian should not have been in the road. A reasonable person would wear his glasses to be able to see and respond to unexpected threats, in this circumstance. Actual knowledge depends on what you as an individual should be expected to know in any give situation. Juries also factor community knowledge into consideration. There are certain types of knowledge that everyone in a community is expected to have. For example, all members of a community are expected to know that children have propensities that make them a high-risk in dangerous environments. This means that construction workers have an obligation to keep children out of construction areas.
Children themselves are usually held to a different reasonable person standard than adults. Children are not expected to act as reasonable adults, so the standard of behavior is modified according to other children their age. Some courts apply the adult standard to children if they are engaged in adult activities, such as extreme sports. A car accident attorney Orange County residents trust may provide guidance as to the reasonable standard for drivers under the age of 18.
If you have been injured in an accident, filing a personal injury claim may be your best option for receiving compensation for your medical bills and transportation costs. A lawyer can help assess your case and determine whether you qualify for compensation.
Call Russell & Lazarus APC today at (949) 851-0222 to work with a reliable Orange County personal injury attorney you can rely on.