425. 223Gross Negligence224 Explained Instruction No 1 Request by Plaintiff Request by Defendant Requested by Given as Proposed Given as Modified Given on Court222s Motion Refused Withdrawn Judge Instruction No 1 Gross negligence is the lack of any care or an extreme departure from what a reasonably careful person would do in the same situation to prevent harm to oneself or to others. A person can be grossly negligent by acting or by failing to act.