Negligence
Negligence refers to the failure to use appropriate and/or ethically ruled care under specified circumstances. Negligence is a category of tort law that deals with harm caused by carelessness, even if it’s due to extenuating circumstances. Negligence is a concept that people must exercise reasonable care and consider the possible harm they could cause to property or other people. A person who is injured in Colorado by the negligence of another party may be entitled to damages to cover their loss. This loss could include economic loss, property damage, physical injury, and psychiatric illness.
Negligence claims: Elements
A five-part model that includes duty, breach and proximate cause may be used to assess negligence law. Anyone who wishes to sue for negligence must prove some of these elements. These elements are known as the “elements of negligence”.
Duty
The duty of a party towards another generally refers to “a duty to care for an injured party by protecting their rights, duties, and privileges”. The duty also includes the duties of acting reasonably to avoid harm and within the limits of other persons reasonable norms. Breach To sue for breach, a person who has violated a duty must prove that they acted in violation of that duty. A party with a similar duty as the plaintiff may support them, but they cannot do so contrary to their duty. An individual who has breached a duty towards another party could support the injured party, provided they had reasonable reliance on that duty.
Breach
Infringement of a plaintiff’s legal duty is the most common. The duties include the duty to use reasonable care to prevent injury to others, duty in connection with a legal proceeding to keep necessary records, duty not to violate procedure and duty to warn about a dangerous condition. The defendant may use motor vehicles in reckless or negligent ways, use dangerous chemicals, fail to provide emergency assistance or first aid when necessary, fail to stop harm being done, and refuse to give useful information to the plaintiff when requested. Duty A duty is an obligation under law to act in conformity with a moral principle or law.
Malice and/or intentional intent
In cases of gross negligence, it may be necessary to establish further conditions of intent or malice.
Causation
Personal injury lawsuits can be brought against the defendant for negligent conduct. However, negligence may also give rise to a cause-of-action in the law. Common causes of action revolve around one or more injuries. Common law recognized that there was an element or likelihood of causation. The plaintiff can hold the defendant liable even if the plaintiff sustained an injury that was not reasonably foreseeable. Sometimes, the plaintiff will argue that the defendant caused the harm suffered by the plaintiff in negligence cases. A cause of action can be asserted when the plaintiff alleges that the defendant caused an injury to him.
Factual causation (actual reason)
To hold a defendant responsible, it must be proven that their acts or omissions caused the damage or loss. Traditional factual causation is based on whether the injury would have occurred even if the defendant had taken reasonable care. This is the so-called but-for test. It establishes that the injury could not have occurred if it were not for the defendant’s negligence. If the injury is caused by the negligence of the defendant, the but-for test will be satisfied.
Legal causation (proximate reason)
The law defines proximate cause as the cause that is the primary cause of injury. The plaintiff must prove that the injuries are a direct and natural consequence of the proximate causality, otherwise the injuries wouldn’t have happened.
Damages
Damages are compensations for damage caused by negligence of another party. Damages are a payment made to compensate for the damages caused by negligence.
Personal injury is often used to refer to negligence and cases surrounding it.
The law of personal injury, which is a part tort law, protects victims of negligence, recklessness and malpractice as well as the rights of those who are not at fault. Personal injury refers to any injury that a person suffers because of another’s negligence or a harmful act. Sometimes, a personal injury can also be called bodily injury. There are many ways that personal injuries can happen. Here are some common causes of personal injury.
- Auto accidents
- Defective or dangerous product injuries (Product Liability).
- Work-related injuries
- Wrongful Death
- Dog bites
Defense of a Negligence Claim
The defendant will attempt to argue the element of the plaintiff’s cause-of-action in order to successfully defend against a negligence lawsuit. The defendant will then present evidence that he/she did not owe any duty to the plaintiff, exercised reasonable care, did not cause plaintiff’s damages, and so forth. A defendant can also rely on a few doctrines to limit or eliminate liability that is based on alleged negligence.
It is important to find a lawyer in Colorado Springs who has experience in personal injury, negligence and tort cases. If you don’t know how to file a claim and respond to motions, keep court dates organized, and all the other logistics involved, it can be very difficult. Contact Jeffrey Scott Lasswell, PC today for a free consultation.