Your Guide to Understanding Legal Negligence
When it comes to personal injury cases, none are more notorious than those caused by legal negligence. From those that have healthy organs removed instead of damaged ones to reckless drivers, the term covers a lot.
In this article, we’ll cover gross negligence, the legal definition of negligence, and what establishes it in court.
What is Legal Negligence?
The definition of negligence, in a legal connotation, is “failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances.”
In essence, if someone is performing a task without proper care for whom they might affect (themselves or others) they could be proven criminally negligent.
Were you to be injured by someone who is negligent, contacting a personal injury law firm would be the first step to gaining restitution. Their job is proving negligence on behalf of those that harmed you.
What Establishes Legal Negligence?
To incur charges and produce a lawsuit, several factors need to come together. These differentiate from case to case, but in general, a case needs to prove:
- The defendant was legally responsible to provide care for the plaintiff
- The defendant breached the duty of care, failing to take reasonable measures to maintain the expected standard of care
- Causation linking the breach of duty with the injury or death of the plaintiff
- The injury caused the plaintiff harm that could have been avoided
- Show damages sustained from the injury
An example would be in a medical malpractice suit, if a surgeon incorrectly removes a healthy organ instead of a damaged one, then the wronged party would be entitled to compensation.
Examples of Legal Negligence
One of the largest examples of negligence that can result in legal recourse is medical malpractice. This is defined as errors committed as, “lapses in judgment, skill or coordination of care… and preventable complications of care.”
From 2006-2016 over 140,000 payments were made as a result of medical malpractice suits.
Nursing homes can commit negligence by not attending to their patrons properly. Not emptying catheters or refusing them food or medicine to punish them is a common form of negligence.
Negligence can take place in ordinary businesses. Know the Slippery-When-Wet caution signs? Those are to protect businesses from negligence by properly warning their patrons.
And then there is driver negligence. Roughly 94% of accidents are a result of driver-related issues, many of which stem from negligence. This could be speeding, not wearing a seat belt, or failing to abide by road signage.
Driving while under the influence can also result in criminal negligence charges.
Seek Restitution Today
Were you the recipient of an injury or damages caused by legal negligence? If so, find a personal injury law firm that will help you recover your losses and hold accountable those that are responsible.
Want to learn more? For more on law, legal negligence, and other proper practices, check out our related blog posts.