
A lot of personal injury claims hinge on whether or not the defendant’s negligence caused the plaintiff to become injured. Legally speaking, negligence occurs when the defendant’s failure to take reasonable precautions results in a plaintiff’s injuries. Though it sounds straightforward, there seems to be widespread confusion regarding the legal definition of negligence. Further complicating matters, there are different levels of negligence: a defendant who acted in a particularly reckless manner may be found to have been grossly negligent. If you’re considering filing a personal injury claim, but you are unsure if your injuries are a result of negligence, keep reading—we’ve got your answers.
Negligence Is Not Always Intentional
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding negligence tends to be that there’s a very direct relationship between intentionality and negligence. Many people believe that if a plaintiff’s injuries were the result of the defendant’s mistake, then the defendant was not negligent because it was a mistake. The aforementioned is untrue: whether or not a defendant intended to harm the plaintiff is irrelevant. In fact, very few personal injury defendants intend to cause harm to the plaintiff, but their actions or inactions caused harm anyway.. When personal injury cases go to trial, juries aren’t asked to decide whether or not the defendant intended to cause the plaintiff’s injuries. Instead, juries are tasked with deciding whether or not the defendant was negligent, and whether or not the defendant’s negligence caused the plaintiff’s injury.
There’s a Standard for Negligence
The standard for negligence often comes down to the question of whether or not the defendant was acting in a reasonable way. According to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, a defendant is negligent when they fail to take the same precautions that a person of ordinary prudence would take. However, in some circumstances, the standard for negligence is different. For example, in cases of medical malpractice, doctors are not held to the same standard as other people. Instead, when determining whether or not a doctor was negligent, a doctor’s actions will likely be compared to the actions of other doctors. If other doctors would have conducted themselves in a similar manner, the doctor is less likely to be considered negligent.
Was the Outcome Foreseeable?
Foreseeability is another element of negligence. Foreseeability is concerned with whether or not the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, of a hazard. For example, if you own a swimming pool, and a child drowns in the pool, you would be more likely to be found liable in a wrongful death claim if a personal injury attorney can prove that you knew, or reasonably should have known that the swimming pool was a hazard. This could happen if you know that children trespass onto your property to go swimming in your pool and you failed to take reasonable precautions to protect potential trespassing children from drowning. The more a defendant was able to foresee, the more likely it is that they will be found liable if they didn’t take precautions.
Can Acts of God Be Foreseeable?
An “act of God” usually refers to a natural disaster such as, storms, fires, hurricanes, etc. For the most part, people aren’t responsible for things such as premises liability when acts of God are involved. If your house is torn down in a tornado, your guests who were injured in the tornado at your residence would not likely be able to win a premises liability claim against you. This is because you could not have foreseen the tornado, the tornado’s destruction, and you could not have prevented the tornado from happening on your property. However, if you know that you have certain hazardous weather conditions in your area, you could be liable for a person’s injuries if you do not take precautions to keep your property safe during those weather conditions. If you live somewhere with hurricanes, and you have a tree that you know needs to be cut down, you may be liable when the tree falls on top of a person during a windstorm.
Have You Been Injured by Negligence?
When determining whether or not a defendant’s negligence caused your injury, you may need the help of a personal injury attorney. In that case, Moxie Law Group is here for you. Our experienced team is ready to help you fight for the compensation you need in order to get back on your feet. If you’re ready to file your claim, contact Moxie Law Group today for your free consultation.
Can You Sue for a Cat Attack?
It’s not uncommon for people to change their path when they realize they’re about to encounter a vicious dog. But most people don’t think much of...
When You’re Personally Injured by Gas Prices
We all know that gas prices have gone through the roof. While they may be high, are they high enough to risk being set on fire for? You heard us...
Can You Sue If You’re Injured while Committing a Crime?
You’ve certainly heard of those cases where the burglar sues the homeowner for injuries they sustained while breaking into the house. And, like so...
Do You REALLY Need Car Insurance?
How’s it feel to check your account and see that your car insurance payment hit your checking account? Probably not great, huh? In fact, you may be...
What Happens after a Dog Attack?
Dog bites are no joke. In fact, the average hospital stay for a dog bite cost victims an average of nearly $20,000 in 2008. And $20,000 is a paltry...
Make Sure Your Fourth of July Is the Right Kind of Explosive
We live in such an amazing country, and many of our citizens choose to celebrate our country’s birthday with good food, lots of friends and family,...
Liability in the Uvalde Shooting
Liability in the Uvalde Shooting Our firm is committed to educating the public in order to promote safety. When you know better, you do better. On...
How to Be a Good Personal Injury Client
How to Be a Good Personal Injury Client We’ve written so many blogs about what to look for in a personal injury lawyer, how to find a good personal...
Tips for the World’s Safest Pool Party
From a drowning accident attorney Are you thinking about throwing a pool party this summer? If so, you’re probably wondering what you can do to...
5 Ways to Prevent Dog Attacks
You hear it all the time: “He was the sweetest dog; I can’t believe he just randomly attacked my cousin!” It’s a tragic thing from all sides; dog...