Opinion ID: 1540571
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Other Jurisdictions Comparative Negligence of Children and Adults

Text: Since the enactment of Delaware's comparative negligence statute, this Court has not addressed the question of whether a trier of fact should apply the principle enunciated in Pokoyski not only to the determination of whether the child breached the applicable standard of care, but also to the apportionment of comparative negligence among the child and any other negligent actors who proximately caused the resultant injury. However, other jurisdictions have addressed the issue. See generally Palmer & Flanagan, Comparative Negligence Manual §§ 4B.130-140 (rev. ed. & 1992 Cum.Supp.). The authors of a recognized treatise have described the view of a majority of jurisdictions on this question as follows: Although comparison of a minor plaintiff's negligence may vary between jurisdictions, a set procedure is followed by most courts. First, the age and experience of the child are considered in determining whether that child was at all negligent. The child's capacity is used to establish a standard of care for that child, after which it is asked whether he or she violated that standard. Second, negligence of the parties is apportioned. However, the age and experience of the child are not utilized when apportioning fault in the second step of this procedure. The courts have consistently failed to discuss how the child's negligence should be compared with the conduct of the adult party. Thus, although a child's age and experience may initially be considered when assessing that child's capacity for negligence, such factors have been conspicuously absent on comparing the conduct of the parties in apportioning causal negligence, an indication that they are not to be so applied. Palmer & Flanagan, Comparative Negligence Manual § 4B.130, at 20-21 (emphasis added) (footnotes omitted). See, e.g., White by Stevens v. Southeastern Pa. Transp. Auth., 359 Pa.Super. 123, 518 A.2d 810, 817 & n. 3 (1986), allocatur denied, 515 Pa. 609, 529 A.2d 1082, 1083 (1987). An alternative, minority approach, known as the Wisconsin view, has been adopted in several jurisdictions: Under this system, the age and experience of the child are considered in determining whether that child was in fact negligent. If so, these same factors are again considered in comparing the negligence of the minor plaintiff with that of the adult defendant. The capacity of the child is thus used for establishing which standard of care applies to the minor plaintiff and in apportioning fault. Palmer & Flanagan, Comparative Negligence Manual § 4B.140, at 22 (emphasis added) (footnotes omitted). See Blahnik v. Dax, 22 Wis.2d 67, 125 N.W.2d 364, 369 (1963). Accord Howard v. Allstate Ins. Co., La.Supr., 520 So.2d 715, 719 (1988); MacConnell v. Hill, Tex.Civ.App., 569 S.W.2d 524, 528 (1978). It is well-established in Delaware that proximate causation is defined as that direct cause without which [an] accident would not have occurred. Culver v. Bennett, Del.Supr., 588 A.2d 1094, 1097 (1991) (quoting Chudnofsky v. Edwards, Del.Supr., 208 A.2d 516, 518 (1965)). This standard is commonly referred to as the but for test. Id. Stated more fully, in order to satisfy the but for test, a proximate cause must be one which in natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any efficient intervening cause, produces the injury and without which the result would not have occurred. Id. (quoting James v. Krause, Del.Super., 75 A.2d 237, 241 (1950)). This Court has long recognized, however, that there may be more than one proximate cause of an injury. Id. (citing McKeon v. Goldstein, Del.Supr., 164 A.2d 260, 262 (1960)). According to Prosser and Keeton, [t]here is some debate over what is to be compared under comparative negligence  negligence [culpability] or causation. Prosser & Keeton, The Law of Torts § 67, at 474 (5th ed. 1984). Compare State v. Kaatz, Alaska Supr., 572 P.2d 775, 781 (1977) (negligence) and Amend v. Bell, 89 Wash.2d 124, 570 P.2d 138, 142 (1977) (negligence) with, e.g., Hood v. Oakley, Miss.Supr., 519 So.2d 1236, 1240 (1988) (causation). The Wisconsin view is most consistent with the premise that the apportionment of fault in a comparative negligence system should be based upon the culpability of the conduct which resulted in the injurious event, rather than being based upon the respective causative effect of the conduct involved. See Brice v. Milwaukee Auto. Ins. Co., 272 Wis. 520, 76 N.W.2d 337, 340 (1956). Therefore, jurisdictions which exclude causation from an apportionment analysis could logically conclude that different standards should be applied to children and adults with regard to the comparative unreasonableness of their conduct. [1] Conversely, an analysis of proximate causation is uniformly objective in nature, and does not account for differences between adults and children.