Abstract
Tort law is not static. Existing as it does to provide a means of recompense for those injured by "conduct which is socially unreasonable," it follows that as society changes so too may social development recharacterize people and their conduct so that what was once realistic is now undesirable. This comment is concerned with the changes that are occurring in the standard of care which is required of minors participating in certain adult activities. In all of the cases adjudicated by the Nebraska Supreme Court in which a minor has been charged with negligence, contributory rather than primary negligence has been alleged against him. With perhaps one exception, the court has applied a subjective standard of care to the minor accused of contributory negligence. It is submitted that it is proper for the court to apply a subjective standard of care in cases where the minor is charged with contributory negligence; however, it ought to apply an objective or "reasonable man" standard of care when the minor is alleged to have committed acts constituting primary negligence and is found to have engaged in an adult activity potentially dangerous to the public.
Recommended Citation
William B. Fenton,
Suggested: An Objective Standard of Care for Minors in Nebraska,
46 Neb. L. Rev. 699
(1967)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol46/iss3/8