Adopting negligence doctrine reoriented tort law from redressing injury to deterring blameworthy conduct.

Evidence

During the second regime, in the nineteenth century, state judges reconceptualized the aims of tort law, viewing it as primarily concerned with deterring injurious conduct. This switch in orientation from redressing injuries to deterring misconduct had far-reaching consequences. No longer was one responsible for all injuries caused by one’s actions. Under the second regime, one was liable only if those injuries were foreseeable and if one failed to exercise due care to avoid them. In thus enshrining negligence as the standard for determining liability, state courts imparted a moral dimension to tort law; one was liable only when one’s actions were blameworthy. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3405

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precisely defines the negligence standard: liability only for foreseeable injuries caused by failure to exercise due care.