What is negligence?

In its most simple definition, it means that someone was careless and as a result of being careless, someone else was injured. Negligence serves as the basis for a personal injury lawsuit. Negligence is any conduct that falls below the recognized standards of behavior established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risks of harm. A person has acted negligently if he or she has departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under the same or similar circumstances. To establish negligence, a plaintiff (the person injured) must be able to prove or demonstrate in court that the defendant (the person being sued) had a duty to the plaintiff, the defendant breached that duty by failing to conform to the required standard of conduct, the defendant’s negligent conduct was the cause of the harm to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff was, in fact, harmed or damaged. For example, the driver of a tractor trailer truck hauling a large piece of machinery owes a duty to other drivers on the freeway to be careful. If the truck driver failed to strap down the machinery and it fell off the truck, landing on a passing car and injuring the driver of the car, a personal injury claim could be made based upon the negligence of the truck driver.

Other Personal Injury FAQs

Q: What does the term "liable" mean?
A: The term liable generally means that a court has determined individual, company or some other entity caused, and is responsible for, another person's injury. … More
Q: What does the term "reasonable person" mean?
A: A person has acted negligently if he or she has departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under the same or similar circumstances. The … More
Q: What does "duty" mean in a negligence lawsuit?
A: When talking about negligence, duty is the legal obligation that the law imposes on us to protect and respect the safety of others around us. That means doing … More
Q: What is contributory negligence?
A: The term “contributory negligence” is used to describe the actions of an injured person that may have also caused or contributed to his injury. For … More
Q: What is comparative negligence?
A: Comparative negligence works on a percentage basis to assign a degree of fault for the injuries suffered. For example, in a case where a person slips and falls on a … More
Q: What is the "assumption of the risk" doctrine?
A: If you have knowingly and voluntarily assumed the risk inherent in a particular action that caused an accident, you cannot sue the other person for negligence if you … More
Q: What is strict liability?
A: Some persons or companies may be held “strictly liable” for certain activities that harm others, even if they have not acted negligently or with wrongful … More
Q: What happens in a deposition?
A: If you file a personal injury lawsuit, the attorney for the defendant will likely “depose” you or take your deposition. A deposition is the process … More
Q: What is "premises liability?
A: The term "premises liability" generally refers to accidents that occur due to the negligent maintenance or unsafe or dangerous conditions upon property owned … More