Negligence Case Basics
Many of the cases that the personal injury lawyers at Mac Hester Law take involve some level of negligence, so we thought we’d go over some basics of negligence cases. In fact, it can be a primary factor in your personal injury case. At Mac Hester Law, we take negligence quite seriously and we want to ensure our readers understand exactly how it plays into the law.
Negligence Defined
- To paraphrase the lengthy definition given by Law.com, negligence is the failure to exercise care toward others which a reasonable or prudent person would do in the circumstances, or taking action that a reasonable person would not.
- A negligence case falls under the category of Torts.
- Negligence is accidental, as opposed to intentional. Intentional acts fall under a different category of the law.
- It can occur in business, but Mac Hester Law deals with personal injury negligence.
Type Of Negligence Cases
- Negligence can take place in many situations and lead to personal injury.
- Injury at work, in automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles all can fall under this aspect of the law.
- Other cases can involve accidents, defective products, medical mistakes and slip and fall accidents.
What Needs To Be Proven In A Negligence Case
- The first thing that has to be proven is “Duty.”
- This means that there existed between the two parties a relationship that created an obligation of duty to the plaintiff on the part of the defendant.
- The second aspect that has to be proven in court in order to win a negligence case is “Breach of Duty.”
- If reasonable care was not exercised, it can be said that a “Breach of Duty” occurred.
- “Proximate Cause” defines the extent to which the defendant’s breach of duty caused the injury that the plaintiff is claiming. A defendant is responsible only for damages that they could have foreseen.
When To Call An Attorney
This is an area of the law. Many different dynamics are important in these cases. It is important to contact a skilled lawyer as soon as you think something has happened to you.