The Relationship Between Negligence & Personal Injury Law | SteinLaw

The Relationship Between Negligence & Personal Injury Law

Negligence is a significant part of personal injury law. When someone acts carelessly and causes an injury to another person, the responsible party is liable under the legal principle of negligence. This method for determining fault is used in most disputes that involve an accident or injury. These include informal settlement talks and trials in personal injury lawsuits. Here are the typical parts of a negligence claim.

Duty

The first step in a negligence claim is determining whether the defendant owed the plaintiff a legal duty of care. For example, drivers have a responsibility to pedestrians and other drivers to obey traffic laws and avoid dangerous behaviors such as drunk driving.

Breach of Duty

After establishing the defendant’s duty, the plaintiff must prove that he or she committed a breach of duty by taking an action or not doing something a reasonably prudent person would do in a similar situation. Children are expected to act as others their age would. For example, a young child who hurts someone in an accidental shooting wouldn’t be committing a breach of duty, but the person who left a gun where the child could reach it breached his or her duty.

Causation

Causation requires the plaintiff to show that the defendant’s negligence caused injury. For example, texting and driving is dangerous, but it’s not always the cause of car accidents. Even if you were texting, an accident could be another driver’s fault.

Damages

After a court determines that your personal injury is due to negligence, damages will be decided. This is the amount of monetary compensation you should get for:

  • Medical expenses
  • Lost wages
  • Property damage
  • Pain
  • Suffering

If you suffer a personal injury, you can get skilled legal help and the damages you deserve with STEINLAW. Visit our website or call 305-930-8176 for a free consultation.

Brandon Stein

Chief Executive Officer

Brandon Stein is a Florida based trial attorney born in Queens, New York, and was raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Being the son of an accountant that owns a large firm in New Jersey, owning and operating a business is something that was engrained within Brandon Stein from a very young age...[READ BIO]

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