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VA · jury_instructions

Va. Model Jury Instr. Civ. No. 32.020

Pedestrian or Driver Has Right to Assume Reasonably Safe Condition

activein force · 2026-04-01 – presentcompiled-edition

A [pedestrian; driver] has a right to assume that a [sidewalk; street; bridge] is in a reasonably

safe condition unless he knows that it is not. He does not have to be on the lookout for dangerous

conditions or obstructions.

However, a [pedestrian; driver] has a duty to use ordinary care for his own safety if he either

knows of the dangerous condition or obstruction or if it is so open and obvious that he should see it.

If a [pedestrian; driver] has a duty to use ordinary care for his own safety and if he fails to

perform this duty, then he is negligent.

History

Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Civil, Release 26, April 2026. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.

Provenance

Source
vacourts.gov
Retrieved
2026-10-11
Edition
civ-2026-04-01
Content hash
687dce6fa019ca7cf22cb9cf6642929312eba4d8424a05077d25f753671f532f
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