Opinion ID: 1822581
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Contributory NegligenceSubjective Standard

Text: [20] ¶ 62. An argument can be made that once the plaintiff has established (1) a special relationship; (2) the foreseeability of a particular harm; and (3) some failure of care on the part of the defendant, the plaintiff should prevail without any further requirement. However, there will be situations in which a mentally disabled person is as able to appreciate danger as any other person and is able to control her actions. When such a person persists in pursuing dangerous and seemingly irrational conduct, the person's duty of self-care should be judged by a subjective standard and compared with the defendant's duty of care. ¶ 63. In Jankee the court resisted an appeal to employ a subjective standard to evaluate a mentally disabled plaintiff. We had recognized in Gould that mental impairments and emotional disorders come in many varieties and degrees. Gould, 198 Wis. 2d at 459. As the American Law Institute recognized in its Restatement of Torts, a legitimate concern in formulating a test for mentally disabled persons in negligence cases is [t]he difficulty of drawing any satisfactory line between mental deficiency and those variations of temperament, intellect and emotional balance which cannot, as a practical matter, be taken into account in imposing liability for damage done. Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 283B, cmt. b.1. Id. We added in Jankee that the administrative difficulties in employing a subjective standard include the possibility of fraudulent claims, in the sense that a mentally disabled person may try to overstate the extent of her disability, after the fact, to avoid the ramifications of her actions. Jankee, 235 Wis. 2d 700, ¶ 72. We also noted that a subjective standard complicates the work of the fact finder in allocating fault, for one party is to be assessed by an objective standard, while the other is to be judged by a subjective standard. Id., ¶ 70. ¶ 64. Nonetheless, adherence to a strict objective standard of care for the plaintiff in the face of (1) a heightened duty of care for the defendant; (2) the foreseeability of a particular risk of harm to the plaintiff; and (3) some failure to satisfy the requisite standard of care on the part of the defendant, would fail to promote reasonable care and to deter negligence. We fear that an objective standard of contributory negligence in these circumstances would leave some deserving mentally disabled patients uncompensated.