Negligence is the basis of most personal injury claims, including those involving motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, workplace accidents, and other incidents. It means that a person has failed to act reasonably under the circumstances caused harm to another.
Negligence has four legal elements you must prove to establish your right to compensation:
- Duty of care – The defendant must have owed you a duty of care to act in a certain way. For example, motorists must obey traffic laws and drive safely to prevent accidents. Property owners must maintain safe premises.
- Breach of duty – The defendant breached the duty by doing or failing to do something, such as speeding or failing to clean up a spill.
- Causation – The defendant’s breach of duty must be the direct and legal cause of the accident, such as the speeding driver didn’t stop in time to avoid an accident or the property owner’s failure to clean up the spill, resulting in your fall.
- Damages – You suffered damages for which the court can compensate you, such as medical expenses or lost income
Your lawyer can identify and preserve evidence to help you establish your negligence claim, such as accident reports, medical records, witness statements, video surveillance footage, expert testimony, and more.