When it comes to personal injury claims, you’re typically going to be involved in some type of liability claim investigation. What this means is that an investigation is used to determine the negligence of the accused party or entity. Sometimes the process of determining negligence can be confusing and that’s why we’ve decided to break it down into the four elements needed to prove your case.
Duty Owed
A person or entity owes a duty of care to act in a reasonably prudent manner towards another party. For example – you have a duty to other drivers on the road to drive safely and responsibly at all times. You are obligated by the law to obey all traffic signals, laws and rules of the road in order to prevent yourself from being a danger to other motorists or pedestrians.
Duty Breached
The second element of negligence is met when a person or entity fails to act in a responsible manner in their duty to others. For example, if you’re texting instead of paying attention to the road while driving and cause an accident – you’ve breached your duty of care and placed yourself and others in harm’s way.
Causation
Causation is something that produces effect or result – or essentially what causes an accident. There are two types of causation we need to prove in a court of law: 1) actual or 2) proximate. When you file a personal injury lawsuit, you are asserting that the defendant is the actual, direct and substantial cause of your injuries – whether the defendant acted negligently, recklessly or intentionally.
Damages
Assuming you have met the three previous elements of negligence, the fourth and final element is established when you’ve suffered injuries or damages that are compensable. In the above texting while driving accident example, the fourth element of negligence is met because you will incur the expense of vehicle repairs, medical bills and other potential damages.
As you can see, the four elements of negligence are closely related to each other and understanding how each one is defined, will help you understand the potential of your case more clearly.
If you or someone you care about has been injured or involved in an accident across South Florida and Southwest Florida, contact the accident lawyers and personal injury attorneys at Weinstein & Cohen at 239-793-3331 or 305-374-1011, or visit fairnessforall, for an absolutely free and confidential legal consultation to learn more about your options.
