The last thing anyone wants is to find themselves involved in some type of accident that leaves them with serious injuries. The only thing that can make this situation worse is when the accident was caused by the negligent actions of another person. In this situation, the best course of action might be taking legal steps against the other person via a personal injury lawsuit.
With that said, proving that the other party did indeed act with negligence will be crucial to winning your case. This will be impossible if you do not understand what negligence is or how it relates to personal injury. To that end, learn everything you need to know about the basics of negligence and its role in a personal injury lawsuit.
What is Negligence?
First and foremost, it’s important to establish a definition for what exactly negligence is so that you know how it plays a role in personal injury. In short, negligence simply means failing to take the proper care when doing something, with the definition of proper care being acting in such a way that a reasonable person would do the same. Specifically, negligence falls under the umbrella of tort law and is involved in determining the severity of the accident that a person caused.
What is Personal Injury?
Going further than negligence, personal injury is the form of tort law which deals with redressing the wrongdoings that were performed against one person. Any damage that occurs to a person’s body, emotions, or even reputation falls under the realm of personal injury. Common types of personal injury seen in the courtroom include:
- Automobile accidents in which a person is not paying attention and causes an accident.
- Workplace related accidents where another person’s actions led to the incident.
- Situations of assault where the level of intent was not purposeful.
- Product defectiveness situations
- Medical malpractice incidents where a healthcare professional violated their oath.
- Off-leash animal attacks
- Defamation
- Causing significant emotional distress to another person
The Four Tenets of Personal Injury
Proving that negligence existed when dealing with a personal injury case is an absolute must as it is the foundation of personal injury. However, to actually prove that a person acted with negligence and that their actions led to your injury, the following four tenets of personal injury must be demonstrated:
Duty of Care
First, it must be shown that the other person had a duty of care to keep the defendant from harm in whatever situation was occurring. This is the foundation for negligence, as it established that the person had a responsibility to act in a certain manner given the situation. As an example, a person who has a large dog with an aggressive history has a responsibility to keep that animal on a tight leash and out of situations that may spark aggression.
Breach of Duty
Once the duty of care has been established, it must also be shown that the defendant violated their duty of care in some way. This violation is the act of negligence that occurred. Sticking with the aforementioned example, if the dog owner decided to drop the leash while talking to another person, only for their dog to run away due to not being trained, it could be seen as a breach of their duty of care.
Proximate Causation
Once the above act of negligence has been shown, the personal injury case will not immediately be settled. You will also be responsible for proving that the act of negligence directly led to the accident which caused your injuries. After all, you can’t sue a person for their negligence actions if those actions didn’t actually correlate to your injuries. If the dog that ran away suddenly bit a child for no reason whatsoever, the negligence of the owner would count as proximate causation.
Damages
Finally, the damages that the defendant is suing the plaintiff for must line up with the extent of their injuries. This means you can’t sue a person for injuries that their negligence did not cause, such as an injury you already had at the time of the accident. Damages don’t just have to be tangible, however, and other types of damages such as pain and suffering can give a person compensation.
The Difference Between Negligence and Recklessness
When it comes to picking up the pieces after injury due to negligence, it’s important to recognize if what occurred was actually negligence or if it was recklessness. As mentioned, negligent behavior is simply a failure to act with reasonable care to those around you, though it is often not intentional. Recklessness, on the other hand, is knowingly acting in such a manner that you are endangering and disregarding the safety of others.
A driver going down the road eating a burger, only for the patty to slip out onto their lap, causing them to look down could be considered negligent. However, a driver purposely running a red light at an intersection because they are in a hurry and don’t want to wait would likely be considered to be acting recklessly. The legal repercussions for acting recklessly are generally far more severe than those associated with acting with negligence due to the presence of intent.
The Bottom Line:
In some situations, pursuing a personal injury lawsuit may not be the right course of action given your situation. However, that doesn’t mean you should refuse to take legal action if you are certain the other person acted with negligence. Review the details of your case with an accredited personal injury lawyer who can help you determine what occurred so that you can figure out if you have a case at all. By not doing anything and choosing to live with your injuries, you are simply leaving money on the table that could otherwise be put towards your medical expenses.
