Scheduled Maintenance Notice: H2O will be undergoing maintenance on Weds, July 30. Some features may be temporarily unavailable during this period. Thank you for your understanding.

Main Content

Torts

United States v. Carroll Towing Co.

            One of the crucial elements of negligence is breach of duty. To determine whether a breach occurred, courts evaluate which standard of care applies. In the next case, Judge Learned Hand created a famous formula for establishing when a defendant met her standard of care. What was the attraction of the so-called Carroll Towing standard? The rule has generated serious controversy. The case and following excerpts help to illuminate why.