Breach of the duty of care is a failure to exercise care or to act as a reasonable person would act.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only intentional acts qualify
• D. Requires a physical injury

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that a breach happens when someone fails to meet the standard of care expected in the circumstances. You don’t have to intend to harm anyone; negligence—an unintentional failure to act as a reasonable person would—counts as a breach. The benchmark is what a reasonable person would do in the same situation, so falling short of that standard constitutes a breach of the duty of care. Also, a breach isn’t dependent on physical injury occurring at the moment of the act—damages and causation come into play after the breach to determine liability. For example, texting while driving is a breach because it fails to meet the reasonable-care standard, even if no crash happens.