What,Negligence,Personal,Injur law What Is Negligence In Personal Injury Law?
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In personal injury law, the term negligence is used toindicate that someone failed to exercise the proper care in a particularsituation. When used as a legal term, the word negligence had a particulardefinition with specific elements. In order for an injured party to collect damagesfrom the negligent party, they must establish proof of each element.When determining negligence, the first element that must beestablished is a Duty of Care. Theinjured party must show that the other party had a legal duty to exercise alevel of care under the circumstances. For instance, in car accident cases, alldrivers are charged with the duty to obey traffic laws. In addition, they havea general duty to keep a proper lookout and not intentionally cause anaccident. For instance, if a driver sees a potential hazard, they may notignore the hazard just because the law indicates they have right of way. If adriver is on a highway approaching a green light, they have the duty to notplow into vehicle stalled in an intersection.The second element of negligence is to determine whetherthere was a Breach of Duty. Once alegal duty of care has been established, a plaintiff must show that thedefendant failed to honor that duty. Generally, this is proved by showing thedefendant knew, or should have known, that their actions would have resulted inthe consequences that followed. In car accident cases, a driver knows, orshould know, that following another care too closely might result in a rear endcollision. Thus, if that driver fails to keep a proper distance from the carthey are following crashes into it, they have breached their duty to maintain asafe following distance.An injured party must next establish that the breach of alegal duty of care was the Cause oftheir injuries. Keeping with the car accident example, a plaintiff would haveto show their particular injury, e.g., whiplash, was caused because thedefendant ran a red light and crashed into their car. In some instances, aparticular injury or ailment may be attributable to several negligent acts. Ina famous case in 1902, two campfires were left burning which led a forest fireand to the plaintiffs house being burned down. The case decided that bothdefendants negligent actions equally caused the plaintiffs losses.Finally, the plaintiff must establish a real injury or Harm for which he is legally entitledto collect damages. Most cases involving physical injury or harm areactionable. Some cases where there is emotional harm only there is no right tocompensation. A parent whose child is injured in a car accident cannot make aclaim for emotional damage based on them having to cope with the horror oftheir childs injury.Once the plaintiff has met their burden of establishingnegligence based on the four factors above, they may collect damages. Damagesare generally classified as special, general or punitive. Special damages arethose that are quantifiable, such as medical bills, loss of earnings, damagedproperty. General damages are those that are intangible such as pain and suffering,loss of quality of life, loss of consortium. Punitive damages are those meantto punish the plaintiff for their actions, for instance injuries resulting froma drunk driver.The general definition is fairly standard in alljurisdictions; however, some areas apply it differently depending on thecircumstances. Be sure to consult with a personal injury lawyer if you thinkyou have been the victim of someone elses negligence.
What,Negligence,Personal,Injur