What is Negligence in Personal Injury Law?

When it comes to personal injury, most of the cases fall under the umbrella of strict liability or negligence. At Meyer Injury Lawyers, we have helped many of our clients recoup their losses in car accidents, which are our most common negligence cases.
In this article, we will talk about what negligence is, what the purpose of these types of cases is, what the most common cases are, and how much can be recovered if you’re claiming a negligence personal injury claim.
When someone is injured, there aren’t only financial and physical repercussions, but oftentimes, the emotional toll is just as significant. So, it’s incredibly important for the injured persons and their families to find the right personal injury lawyer to help them through the process.

What is Negligence?

According to Cornell Law, the definition of negligence is: A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act (e.g., a duty to help victims of one’s previous conduct).

4 Elements of Negligence

Just because a person is injured doesn’t mean there are grounds for a personal injury case. Here are the 4 elements of negligence that you would have to prove occurred in order to justify a claim:

1. Duty: The defendant owed a legal duty to the plaintiff. This can show up in many ways, for example, a doctor owes their patient a legal duty to provide care. And a person operating a motor vehicle owes those around him a duty to be responsible for their actions.
2. Breach: The next step is to prove that there was a breach of duty. There is a term here that says, “reasonably prudent person, “ which basically refers to how the average person would respond or act in a certain situation.
3. Causation: For causation, there must be proof that the defendant’s actions actually caused the injury or damage.
4. Damages: The final step is that there must be damages that are worth a legal claim. If an injury has prevented someone from working, has had to be medically treated, or has caused emotional damage, then moving forward with a personal injury claim is the right next step.

What Are the Most Common Negligence Cases?

The most comment negligence cases in personal injury court are as follows:

• Car Accidents
• Premises Liability
• Slip and Fall Incidents
• Defective Medical Devices
• Drug Injuries

At Meyer Injury Lawyers, our most common cases that fall under negligence include car accidents and slip and fall incidents.

How Much Can Be Recovered?

Just like our strict liability cases, personal injury due to negligence cases also has a wide range of recovery. We’ve settled for $250k-$300k for car accident injuries, $300k for a slip and fall accident, and $450k for a pedestrian vs. vehicle accident.

There are many factors that go into how to quantify the damages made in cases like these. It’s not easy to navigate this alone. Meyer Injury Lawyers are known to fight hard for the settlement that our clients deserve.