What is negligence?
In its most simple definition, negligence 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):
- owed 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 injured.
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.
Additional 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 lawsuit for injuries?
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 broad-side car accident case where the … 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 does strict liability mean?
A: Some persons or companies may be held “strictly liable” for certain activities or products that harm others, even if it can’t be shown they acted … More -
Q:
What happens during 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 -
Q:
What is a personal injury?
A: A personal injury is an injury to the body, but can also include mental and emotional injuries. Personal injuries do not include injuries to property. More
