Negligence is a fundamental concept upon which a personal injury claim is built. Negligence can be described as an instance where a party exhibits a lack of reasonable care and therefore causes harm.
In order for negligence to be established, five essential elements must be present: duty of care, breach of duty, cause, proximate cause, and harm. In this article, we will explore what each of these elements entails and why they are necessary in building a personal injury claim.
Duty of Care
The first criterion of negligence that must be met in order to have a viable claim is a duty of care. Duty of care encompasses one’s responsibility to act within reasonable care to protect another individual or party from harm. This duty of care will differ depending on the circumstances of every situation and the parties involved.
Some common types of duty include one’s responsibility to obey traffic laws and drive safely, and a medical professional’s responsibility to provide appropriate care for their patients. If no duty of care is established, no personal injury case can be built as negligence won’t be applicable.
Breach of Duty
Once it has been established that there was an expected duty of care, the next element that comes into question is whether there was a breach of that duty. A breach of duty occurs when an individual fails to meet the duty of care that was reasonably expected to protect others from harm.
For example, we know that drivers have a duty of care to follow traffic laws and drive safely. However, once this expectation is breached, such as if a driver drives recklessly and crashes into a pedestrian, this would be considered a breach of duty.
Cause
The next element that must be met is causation. This means that the breach of duty by the defendant must have directly caused injury to the plaintiff. This is also regarded as “cause in fact” in law, meaning that had the defendant not breached their reasonably expected duty of care, the plaintiff would not have been injured. This casual relationship is pivotal in establishing negligence.
Proximate Cause
Another element of negligence that must be met that is a bit more complex is proximate cause. Proximate cause describes whether the accident was reasonably foreseeable. For example, if a driver is traveling at high speeds and crashes, it is highly foreseeable that a pedestrian may be injured and a proximate cause can be established. However, if a freak accident occurs that is highly improbable or unexpected, proximate cause is not present.
Harm
The final element of negligence is harm. In order for this element to be satisfied, the plaintiff must have suffered actual injury or damages as a result of the breach of duty.
This harm can include physical injuries, as well as emotional, financial, or mental injuries and hardships, and it directly dictates the amount of recoverable compensation. It is crucial that there is tangible proof of harm, such as images or doctor’s notes, otherwise there will be no viable personal injury claim.
Taking Legal Action
If you have been injured in an accident and are considering taking legal action for the injuries you sustained, keep in mind these elements of negligence.
If you believe that you have met these criteria, a Seattle personal injury attorney can assess your case and help you determine whether it is viable. An attorney can help piece together the elements of negligence and help you recover compensation for the injuries and damages that resulted.