Negligence

Negligence is conduct which is lower than the level required by law to protect individuals from harm. Personal injury cases can be sought if a claimant can prove certain elements of their case, such as negligence.

For instance, if you have been injured, to win a personal injury case you must prove four elements: the defendant owed you a duty of care, the defendant breached their duty, the breach of duty or negligence caused your injury or loss, and you have, in fact, suffered injury. If you cannot prove these four elements you cannot win an injury case.

Claims based on the concept of negligence, which lead to injury, are civil cases, not criminal. Compensation for these cases, which is generally payment to the injured, are used to restore the injured party to their original state, as opposed to punishing the defendant. Negligence which leads to injury cases commonly include premise liability cases, medical malpractice cases, car accident claims, trucking accidents, product liability claims and contract disputes.