Legal Question in Personal Injury in Pennsylvania
duty of care
adult gives a loaded gun to boy 12 years old to deliver the gun to adult. child takes his school friend with him to make the delivery. Upon arrival, child accidentally drops the gun on friend's toe. The toe breaks. When the gun falls, it discharges immediately, killing man. child suffers from extreme emotional distress and depression as a result of the incident. The gun is damaged when child accidentally drops it. has adult breached a duty of care to 12 year old child and school friend? Has 12 year old breached a duty to adults and school friend?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: duty of care
I sure hope this is some type of hypothetical and you're looking for an easy way to do your homework. In which case, you should do the research because you won't learn as much by asking someone else's opinion.
Because when people ask about real situations, they usually ask, "Can I be sued" not whether there was a breach of duty.
On the facts you describe, the adult has committed a gross, reckless, egregious, violation of the duty of care to ANYONE who could be injured. The child's duty is a lot more complicated and depends on the facts.
Re: duty of care
Either you just took the bar exam and think you failed or you are biting your fingernails off preparing for first year. Or maybe this is a summer research project.
Regardless, the adult's behavior is clearly reckless and a breach of the general duty, while the 12 year old's duty depends upon the circumstances, particularly the child's experience, intelligence, etc. Consult the Restatement (Second) of Torts and its examples for more.
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