Law Articles

What is negligence?

Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care in one’s actions. If you are hurt or your property was damaged because someone did not act carefully enough, you can sue the responsible party in court. There are four elements to a claim of negligence: (1) duty; (2) breach of duty; (3) causation; and (4) damages. More generally, duty is when an individual, or group of individuals, should behave or act in a certain way. A breach of that duty occurs when the individual fails to act in the required manner. Often, a court will decide whether a defendant’s conduct was a “breach of duty” by comparing it to a “reasonable person” standard. Would a reasonable person have behaved as the defendant did? If not, then their behavior may be considered a breach of duty. Causation is present when the first person’s flawed conduct has an impact on another person. Finally, to have a successful claim for negligence against another person, one must also have damages, or in other words, an injury to property or a person.

Two examples of where negligence can be seen are in car accidents and slip and fall accidents. In a car accident case, the defendant has a “duty” to operate the vehicle in a controlled and safe manner as a “reasonable person” would. This duty is violated, and considered a “breach of duty” when the defendant violates traffic laws or fails to operate the vehicle in a safe manner. This could be because the defendant got distracted and did not pay attention, causing a rear end accident, or did not look before merging and sideswiping another vehicle. To be found negligent, a defendant must be responsible, or the “cause” of the accident. A successful claim needs “damages” which could be anything ranging from a broken arm to more permanent injuries.  Under New York Law, a claimant in an automobile related accident must suffer a “serious physical injury.”

During wintertime, negligence claims often arise when someone is injured from a “slip and fall” on ice, snow, or slippery pathways. In these cases, a plaintiff will claim that a defendant had a “duty” to properly remove snow from their property. They will allege there was a “breach of duty” when the defendant failed to properly clean the snow off of their property. The plaintiff will claim this failure was the “cause” of their slip and fall. An example of this would be when a plaintiff slips and falls on property that a defendant is responsible to maintain.  Once again, damages are required for a successful negligence claim. A plaintiff must claim they suffer an injury as a result of the slip and fall accident, in order to pursue a claim successfully.

Other types of negligence cases include:

 

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Truck accidents
• Construction accidents
• Slip and fall accidents
• Trip and fall accidents
• Building fires
• Elevator Accidents
• Medical Malpractice
• Wrongful death
• Workplace accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Scaffold accidents
• Crane accidents
• Taxi accidents
• Bus accidents
• Subway accidents
• Boating accidents
• Failure to supervise
• Nursing home accidents
• Failure to safeguard patients
• NYCHA injuries/NYCHA accidents
• Lead poisoning

 

If you have been injured in an accident, contact the lawyers at Pryor Law by clicking here. Pryor Law has been practicing in personal injury law for over 25 years and can help you receive the compensation you deserve.

 

 

 

This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.