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AMI 302 Negligence—Definition

Arkansas Supreme Court Committee On Jury Instructions-Civil

Ark. Model Jury Instr., Civil AMI 302
Arkansas Model Jury Instructions-Civil
December 2023 Update
Arkansas Supreme Court Committee On Jury Instructions-Civil
Chapter 3. Negligence, Fault, and Ordinary Care
AMI 302 Negligence—Definition
When I use the word “negligence” in these instructions I mean the failure to do something which a reasonably careful person would do, or the doing of something which a reasonably careful person would not do, under circumstances similar to those shown by the evidence in this case. [It is for you to decide how a reasonably careful person would act under those circumstances.] [To constitute negligence an act must be one from which a reasonably careful person would foresee such an appreciable risk of harm to others as to cause [him][her] not to do the act, or to do it in a more careful manner.]
NOTE ON USE
Do not use the first bracketed sentence if AMI 303 is given.
Use the second bracketed sentence when foreseeability is an issue.
For the definition of negligence on the part of a physician, surgeon, or dentist, see AMI 1501; for that of an architect or engineer, see AMI 1204; and for that of an attorney, see AMI 1510.
COMMENT
The text of this instruction, including the bracketed sentence on foreseeability, was quoted as correctly declaring the law. Service Communications, Inc. v. Wells, 279 Ark. 378, 651 S.W.2d 100 (1983); St. Mary's Hospital, Inc. v. Bynum, 264 Ark. 691, 573 S.W.2d 914 (1978). The instruction was cited for the definition of negligence in Wallace v. Broyles, 331 Ark. 58, 961 S.W.2d 712 (1998) and White River Rural Water Dist. v. Moon, 310 Ark. 624, 839 S.W.2d 211 (1992).
The second bracketed sentence is based on Hill v. Wilson, 216 Ark. 179, 224 S.W.2d 797 (1949), and Benson v. Shuler Drilling Co., 316 Ark. 101, 871 S.W.2d 552 (1994) (second bracketed sentence properly given).
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