In most cases of personal injury, the person who suffered the injury relies on the legal concept of “negligence” in order to establish the fault of another person in the underlying accident. So, what’s the negligence? It can best be explained by the illustration of some of the key elements of any claim of negligence: the duty of care and the “breach” of that duty.
- Duty: Duty is merely a legal obligation. The Defender must have owed a duty to the Plaintiff to be sued for Negligence.
- Breach: infringement is a violation of the law or duty. To be liable for negligence, the Defender must breach his duty.
“Negligence is a failure to take reasonable care to prevent causing injury or loss to someone else. That the plaintiff suffered injury or loss that could be expected of a reasonable person in the scenarios (damage) that the damage was caused by the breach of duty (cause).’’
In the sections below, Car Accident Attorney in Las Vegas takes a closer look at these key elements of a personal injury claim or suit.
- How can we tell if someone is negligent?
In each case, the distinction between negligence and other forms of liability rests heavily on very specific facts.
Look back at the example of our trucking fleet. If the trucking company were deliberately trying to cut costs by trying to get more mileage out of each set of brake pads, that choice would not normally be seen as negligence.
Moreover, if due to laziness, exhaustion or poor training, a breakdown of diligence has occurred, this may be seen as negligent.
Consequently, the proof of negligence depends on very specific types of evidence.
In the trucking operation, a lawyer representing an injured client would want to see the vehicle maintenance logs. The case would then depend on whether the concepts were doing their job. If good maintenance habits are employed, then the law firm handling the case may be able to avoid the allegation of negligence and start looking at issues such as the defects of the manufacturer.
Alternatively, if maintenance schedules were not dealt with diligently, the law firm representing the injured client would begin to explore negligence issues.
- Duty of Care:
A major part of proving fault in almost all cases of negligence is the duty of care.
This is the idea that if someone is likely to be injured, it is the responsibility of the responsible property owners to take preventive measures.
If a store has a doorway where melting snow is a common hazard during the colder months, it is the duty of the shop operator to take care of the entrance to ensure that members of the public are not at an increased risk of injury. This is what we think of as the classic claim of slip-and-fall injury.
It is worth noting that this duty is counterbalanced by the assumption that the public will also take reasonable precautions.
If the person in the slip-and-fall example had chosen to wear flip flops on this hypothetical bad weather day, this would normally be taken into account when determining the percentage of responsibility for the injury.
- Harm:
It’s not enough for a party to provide proof of negligence. If negligence has occurred and no one has been harmed, there is no basis for a claim.
The plaintiff must also prove some type of economic loss, although there are circumstances in which other types of damages may also be granted..
Recap: The four elements of negligence:
- First, there must be a duty of care.
- Second, that duty of care must have been proven to have been violated.
- Third, a breach of duty of care must be the immediate cause of injury.
- Fourth, the resulting injury resulted in a demonstrable monetary loss.
All four of these elements must be in play before a claim of negligence can be made.
It is important to note that the duty of care is not an abstract or nebulous concept. In most cases, the law sees very clear duties. Business owners, for example, often do not like local regulations that force them to clarify the sidewalks that are on or adjacent to their characteristics. Their objection does not matter because, legally, the owner of the property has a duty to take care of any nearby areas where the public may travel.
- Liability may also be assigned by contract in a number of scenarios.
For illustration, the owner of a property might rent a business space to someone else. In the process, the tenant may be assigned responsibility for keeping the pavement clear. However, it is crucial for the owner of the property to be able to produce a paper trail that clearly shows that the liability was deliberately assigned to the tenant.
- Negligence is a very specific offense – does your personal injury case meet the four criteria?
Negligence may seem like an ill-defined concept. From the point of view of the law, however, negligence is a very specific offense arising from the duty of care and the infringement thereof. Once a duty has been established and a breach has been demonstrated, the only remaining hurdles are to prove real harm and quantify it.
If you or an adored one have been injured by someone else’s negligence, a potential legal claim may be worth pursuing — especially if you’ve earned medical bills and missed work. Recognize meeting with experienced Personal Injury Attorneys in Las Vegas to learn more.
