Proving negligence is often one of the main requirements in personal injury claims. Negligence refers to a failure to act with the reasonable care that a person or entity owes to others.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the four requirements needed to prove negligence and receive compensation in a personal injury claim.
Duty of Care
The first step in proving negligence is establishing that you were owed a duty of care. A duty of care is a legal obligation to act in a way that prevents harm to others that is dependent on the relationship between the parties involved.
Motor vehicle drivers owe a duty of care to other drivers and pedestrians to drive safely and follow traffic laws. Businesses and property owners owe a duty of care to customers and visitors to maintain safe conditions on their premises.
Breach of Duty
Once you have established that you were owed a duty of care, you must prove that this duty has been breached. A breach occurs when actions or inactions fall short of what a reasonable person would do in a similar situation. This often involves showing there was careless, reckless or unreasonable conduct.
Motor vehicle drivers breach the duty of care they owe to others when they drive impaired by alcohol and/or drugs or disobey traffic laws by speeding, disobeying traffic signals or using a mobile device while driving.
Businesses and property owners breach the duty of care they owe to others when they ignore, fail to warn and/or fail to fix a known hazard such as a wet floor or cracked sidewalk.
Causation
The third element you must prove is showing that the breach of duty directly caused your injuries.
This requires showing that “but for” the breach of duty, the injury wouldn’t have happened. For example, if an impaired driver crashes into your car after disobeying traffic laws, the crash likely wouldn’t have occurred if they weren’t impaired.
It also requires showing that the breach of duty was closely enough related to the injury to hold the individual or entity responsible. For example, if a property owner fails to clean up a spill and someone slips and falls, the injury must be a reasonably foreseeable result of the owner’s neglect to remove the hazard.
Damages
The last element you need to prove is that you suffered damages as a result of the negligence.
These damages can include medical expenses, lost wages and the physical and emotional distress caused by the injury.
Without damages there’s no need for compensation regardless of any negligence by a person or entity.
If you are injured due to negligence, it is important to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer who will help you navigate the legal process and get the compensation you deserve. We have a proven track record of success in personal injury cases. Contact us today to book a free consultation and learn more about how we can help you.
Published on December 18, 2024