Section 18.5 Negligence

• Library: Tort Law 2016

b. (§18.5) Negligence

Negligence is a frequent cause of action for property damage. A claimant in a negligence action for property damage must establish all of the following elements:

· The defendant had a legal duty to conform to a particular standard of conduct to protect others against unreasonable risks.

· The defendant breached the duty.

· The defendant’s conduct was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury.

· Actual damage to the plaintiff’s person or property resulted.

Hoover’s Dairy, Inc. v. Mid-Am. Dairymen, Inc./Special Prods., Inc., 700 S.W.2d 426, 431 (Mo. banc 1985).

The existence of a duty is a question of law. In considering whether a legal duty exists, a court must weigh the foreseeability of the injury, the...