Opinion ID: 1822581
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Requirement of Some Negligence

Text: ¶ 59. If (1) a special relationship existed between the defendant and the plaintiff; (2) the particular risk of harm was foreseeable; and (3) there is some evidence that the defendant failed to exercise the duty of care that was required under these circumstances, then the defendant may assert the defense of contributory negligence. However, under these circumstances the plaintiff's conduct should be evaluated under a subjective standard of care. This standard will permit the fact finder to weigh the plaintiff's capacity to appreciate the risk of harm and to act to avoid it. ¶ 60. In Jankee we said: Even if the particular [risk of harm] were foreseeable, the defense of contributory negligence should not be expunged if the defendant's exercise of care was not only reasonable but also fully responsive to the heightened duty with which the caregiver was charged. Jankee, 235 Wis. 2d 700, ¶ 93 (emphasis added). The main thought in this inartfully worded sentence is that it takes more than having a heightened duty of care to be liable for negligence. Negligence is different from strict liability because it requires a breach of dutya failure to satisfy whatever obligation the law imposes. In this instance, a breach of duty or want of care may not be determined solely by looking at a tragic result. ¶ 61. The phrase fully responsive in Jankee was intended to imply that some failure by the defendant to exercise the duty of care required because of the special relationship and the foreseeable risk of harm is necessary to relieve the plaintiff of her objective standard of care. There may be some attempted escapes or acts of self-destruction that are so extraordinary that the most conscientious caregiver could not have prevented them. Once again, a health care institution is not an insurer against every possible act of its patients.