If you’ve suffered injury because of someone else’s careless actions, understanding negligence can help you determine whether to make a valid personal injury claim. Negligence is the legal foundation that allows you to seek compensation when another person’s failure to act reasonably causes you harm.
Your ability to receive compensation depends on proving that you understand someone else’s negligent behavior directly led to your injuries.
Proving someone owed you a duty of care
To build your case, you must first establish that the person who injured you had a legal duty to accord you reasonable care. This duty exists in many everyday situations where people interact and their actions could potentially cause harm to others.
For instance, if you got injured in a car accident, the other driver had a legal duty to abide by traffic laws and drive safely. If you got hurt on someone’s property, the owner was supposed to maintain a reasonably safe environment for visitors like yourself.
Showing they breached that duty
Once you’ve established that a duty existed, you need to prove the other party failed to meet the required standard of care a caring and reasonable person would have exercised in the same situation.
Establishing causation for your injuries
You must prove that the other party’s breach of duty directly caused your injuries. This involves two types of causation that work together to establish the connection between their negligence and your harm.
First, you need to show that your injuries wouldn’t have occurred if not for their negligent actions. Second, your injuries must be a reasonably foreseeable result of their breach of duty, not something too remote or unexpected to hold them responsible for.
Documenting your actual damages
Finally, you must prove that you suffered real, legally recognized harm as a result of their negligence. Your damages might include lost wages, hospital and medical bills, property damage, pain and suffering and other losses directly related to your injuries.
Owing to the complexity of proving negligence and the importance of protecting your rights, consider seeking legal guidance to evaluate your case and help you pursue the compensation you deserve.