The Evidentiary Value of Defendant’s Safety Rules in a Negligence Action

I. Introduction II. Special Purposes for Admission … A. To Prove Knowledge of Danger … B. To Show Feasibility of Safeguards … C. By Plaintiff to Show Absence of Contributory Negligence … D. By Defendant to Show Plaintiff’s Contributory Negligence … E. Duty to Make Rules and Enforce Them III. Relation of the Rules to the Standard of Care in Negligence Actions … A. In General … B. As Admissions or Declarations against Interest … C. As a Circumstance under Which the Employee Acts … D. Comparison with Statutes, Ordinances, and Administrative Regulations … 1. A City’s Violation of Its Own Ordinances … E. Comparison with Custom or Habit IV. Policy Arguments against Admissibility V. Compliance as Evidence of Due Care VI. Irrelevant Rules … A. Written Rule Limitation … B. Purpose Limitation … C. Conflict Limitation … D. Interpretation Limitation … E. Time Limitation VII. Instructions, Weight, and Effect upon Jury in General VIII. Rules to Prove an Act IX. The Servant v. Master Class X. Conclusion