Liability

What is Standard of Care?

The level of care a reasonably prudent person (or professional) would exercise under similar circumstances.

Definition

The standard of care is the legal benchmark a defendant must meet to avoid being negligent. For ordinary negligence, it's the 'reasonably prudent person' test. For professionals (doctors, lawyers, accountants), it's what a similarly trained professional would do under the same circumstances — typically established through expert testimony.

How it applies in personal injury cases

Central to medical malpractice cases. Plaintiff must establish (via expert) what the standard was, that the defendant breached it, and that the breach caused the harm. The strength of available expert testimony in the relevant specialty often determines whether a med-mal case is worth pursuing.

Related terms

Causation
The legal requirement that a defendant's negligence directly caused the plaintiff's injury.
Res Ipsa Loquitur
A doctrine that infers negligence from the nature of an accident in cases where direct evidence of negligence is unavailable.
Negligence Per Se
A doctrine where violating a safety statute is automatically considered negligence, eliminating the need to prove duty and breach separately.

This entry is a plain-English reference for personal injury practice. It is not legal advice — consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for the law applicable to your case.

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