4 Elements of Negligence You Should Understand Before Considering a Lawsuit

 
We will talk about the four elements that traditionally go into negligence in legal circles in this article. Once you have grasped this concept, you should have a much better idea of whether you have a case that’s worthy of you bringing a civil action against a person or entity that you believe harmed you.

What Does Negligence Mean in Legal Circles?

First, let’s make sure you understand what negligence means in the legal profession. The term refers to a situation where someone didn’t act with the level of care that society would reasonably expect. If you’re trying to say that someone acted negligently, you’re alleging that a reasonable person would have acted differently given the same circumstances.

It’s an easy concept to grasp, but we should add one additional caveat that sometimes comes into play in civil lawsuits. If you’re alleging negligence, it could mean that you’re saying someone should have acted in a certain way, or possibly that you’re saying they shouldn’t have acted in a particular way. In other words, negligence can apply to someone either taking action or doing nothing.

 
If what they did or didn’t do harmed you, then that’s when you may potentially have a legal case against them and you should consider hiring a lawyer. If you speak to one, though, they will likely bring up the four aspects of negligence that we’ll cover right now.

Duty of Care

Duty of care is the primary element of negligence that you and your lawyer must prove if you decide that you will move forward with a lawsuit against a person or business entity that harmed you. It means the defendant owed what the law calls a legal duty to the plaintiff to act. They also had to do so with reasonable care.

If you think about civil cases, like if a doctor harms you and you’re alleging medical malpractice took place, you’ll need to establish that they had a duty of care. Since doctors have to care for their patients, that should not be very difficult to do.

Breach of Duty

Breach of duty comes next. Breach of duty means that the defendant, which is to say the person or entity you’re suing, failed to meet the reasonable care standard that should have applied in the situation. Essentially, you’re saying in such an instance that the person or entity against which you’re taking legal action had a duty of care, and they failed to reach it or adhere to it.

 
In other words, they failed you when you were in their care. Again, a medical malpractice suit is an easy example, but you can probably think of many more. For example, in a product liability lawsuit, if a company made a product that injured you, they had a duty of care to test it to make sure that it was safe to use. They either failed to do that or else they did not test it well enough before they made it available.

Causation

Causation comes next. This means the defendant, by breaching their duty to you, caused you harm. That harm might include illness, injury, or both.

 
If you can establish the first two, and then you can connect what the defendant did or didn’t do to your injury or illness, then you’re getting closer to a potential settlement offer or a favorable jury verdict. Most civil trials conclude with settlements rather than jury verdicts.

Damages

Damages make up the final element in negligence cases. This means that you, the plaintiff, suffered what the law calls actual losses or harm. You must also have sustained those losses or harm through the defendant’s direct action or inaction.

Proving All Four Sometimes Becomes Difficult

If you can prove that all four of these elements occurred, you’ll likely get a settlement offer from the defendant. Their lawyer will probably advise them they should settle if it’s abundantly clear that you can prove all four elements in a straightforward fashion that a jury will understand and with which they’ll agree.

However, while you might have some of the four elements in play, you and your lawyer may find that you’re not in a position to draw a clear line through each one that leads to the inescapable conclusion that the defendant harmed you. For instance, maybe you feel strongly that a store bore some responsibility if you slipped and fell on a wet spot while shopping. You allege the store didn’t put up adequate signage so you would take the proper precaution when approaching the spill.

The store’s management counters by saying they did put a sign up, but you didn’t see it. If so, they may feel they have a good chance of beating the lawsuit, so they may refuse to offer a settlement.

As we mentioned a moment ago, most civil actions end in settlement offers. Many plaintiffs, whether individuals or companies, don’t want to go through a long, costly court battle if they can avoid it. If their legal counsel feels you and your lawyer can’t prove negligence according to the legal definition, though, they may decide to hash it out in court and let a jury decide.

 
That’s why, if you’re going to bring a civil action, you should only do so if you can come up with abundant evidence that proves negligence. If you can produce paperwork, video evidence, and eyewitnesses, your chances become much better.