You can claim personal injury damages if you’ve developed an illness or suffered an injury due to someone else’s fault. But before receiving any compensation, you must prove that the party at fault was negligent.
Proving negligence in a personal injury claim can be very simple or complicated, depending on the facts of the case. You can’t be compensated by proving that an action caused an injury. You must be able to point out all four elements of negligence and how they are linked to the person at fault.
Read on to learn more about negligence in a personal injury claim so you can get a better idea of whether or not you have a claim.
What Is Negligence in a Personal Injury Claim?
Negligence is the failure to act reasonably. If someone fails to do something that a reasonable person would do, or when they do something that a reasonable person wouldn’t do, they are said to be negligent.
Negligence is the basis for most personal injury claims. When determining negligence in a personal injury case, the injured person must have sufficient evidence that the defendant didn’t act in a reasonable manner, causing them damages.
Say, for instance, when a bus driver decides to take alcohol before starting their shift and ends up causing an accident, they would be considered negligent. That’s because a reasonable person wouldn’t get behind the wheel when they’re intoxicated.
By suing another person for negligence, you’re simply asking them to put you in the same position you would have been if they hadn’t acted negligently. Some of the common scenarios where you can sue for negligence include:
- When a driver runs the red light and hits you while walking on the crosswalk
- When a doctor fails to provide you with standard medical care
- When you trip and fall due to poor lighting in a parking lot
- When you get serious injuries due to using faulty equipment at work
The Four Elements Required to Prove Negligence Liability
Here are the four main elements of negligence that you must prove to receive compensation for your injuries:
Duty of Care
When determining negligence, the court will first determine whether the defendant owes you a legal duty of care. Duty of care basically means that the other party has a responsibility to protect you from harm.
For an obligation to exist, there must be a relationship between you and the respondent. Some of the most common relationships that result in a duty of care include:
- Landlords and tenants: Landlords must always keep their tenants safe.
- Doctors and patients: Doctors, as well as other medical professionals, must provide their patients with standard medical care.
- Employers and employees: Employers must provide a safe working environment for their employees.
- Manufacturers and consumers: Manufacturers must keep their consumers safe by maintaining safe product standards.
- Professionals like lawyers and financial advisors must provide their clients with competent advice and services.
Breach of Duty
After proving that the defendant had a duty of care, the court must determine whether they breached the duty by failing to act reasonably. To determine if a duty of care was breached, the court will look at all the standard care expected in that circumstance.
This basically means that it will consider what a reasonable person would have done or not done in that particular circumstance. If they’re found to have acted in an unreasonable manner, then they will be guilty of breaching their duty of care.
Some common examples of failure to meet standard care include:
- Where a driver isn’t keen on the road and ends up running into a vehicle in front of them
- Where an individual knows that their pet is aggressive to strangers but brings the pet to a public event, and the pet harms someone
- Where a property owner fails to fix dangerous conditions on their property
Causation
Causation requires you to prove that the defendant’s negligence or breach of duty caused you injuries and damages. For instance, if you’re hit and injured by a drunk driver, you must prove that your injuries are a result of the driver’s negligent behavior.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to prove causation, especially in cases where many factors contributed to the injury. For example, a doctor might fail to diagnose a patient’s condition early, which causes the patient to die. However, a court might not hold the doctor responsible if the patient was already in such poor health before the diagnosis.
It’s important to note that establishing causation isn’t enough to prove negligence. You must prove all four elements of negligence for your negligence claim to push through.
Damages
The last element of negligence in a personal injury claim is damages. If a court finds a defendant guilty of causing injuries or property damages, they should compensate you for the damages. Damages typically have three main categories:
- General damages: These are damages that can’t be measured in monetary terms. These include emotional distress, pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, and loss of companionship due to death. Since these losses differ from one person to another, it isn’t easy to calculate them.
- Special damages: Unlike general damages, special damages are quantifiable, such as lost wages and medical expenses. It also includes property damage and out-of-pocket expenses incurred due to the injury. They’re unique for every case and can vary depending on the circumstance.
- Punitive damages: These are meant to punish the defendant and prevent them from committing the same offense in the future. Punitive damages are, however, not awarded in every case. They are only awarded when the defendant is reckless or heinous.
Ready to File a Personal Injury Claim?
If you have sustained an injury due to someone else’s negligence, you can file a personal injury claim to get compensated for the losses. While it may seem straightforward, proving negligence can sometimes be a complicated process.
That’s why you need to hire an experienced attorney to handle the complex court process while focusing on your recovery journey.
