Exam 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exam 1 - Essay Example Did Don have duty of care? Absolutely, if a person gets into an automobile as a passenger it is entirely reasonable to assert that they expect and the driver accepts the responsibility of safely conveying them to their destination. In this case, if anything, Don had a greater than normal duty of care as, by the time of the crash, Paula was a virtual prisoner in the vehicle. She ‘repeatedly asked Don to stop and let her out of the car†¦. Don ignored her requests.’ Arguably, Don was a kidnapper at this pint with Paula confined by his refusal to let her out. Regardless of this tangent, Don was responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle and the safety of Paula, his passenger. He breeched that care when he drove, insistently, until exhausted and dozed off. A Techbyte employee had driven Paula to the conference and asked Don to return her home as he, the president, was staying at the convention for another day. Approached by the president, Don, ‘a trusted employee’ agreed. He was not doing a friend a favour he was acceding to his superior’s request. Further, during the trip they were to ‘discuss Techbyte’s future computer needs on the way.’ Ultimately, in this scenario, Don was ‘at work’ when the accident occurred and acting as an employee of Techbyte and not as an individual. This, then, gives rise to a second question: Could Techbyte be held liable for the injuries Paula sustained in the car accident that resulted from Don’s negligent driving? Yes, they could. It is difficult to defend against the claim that Don was acting as an employee when he agreed to drive Paula home. As a ‘trusted employee’, presumably a man the president had known for some time, he was a reasonable and responsible choice. At that point Techbyte’s duty of care was fulfilled and the duty of care passed to Don, the driver. This is not a strong claim, but there is a significant mitigating factor here. Don did not injure Paula in