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The role of negligence in personal injury

On Behalf of | Feb 1, 2021 | Personal Injury

Personal injury accidents may inflict serious injuries. The damage may require life-long medical treatment in some instances. 

Paying for this treatment should fall to the person responsible. While the action that led to the accident may not appear intentional, it may prove avoidable. Discover some insight into negligence that may help the victim of an accident recover physically and financially. 

What is negligence?

People make poor choices all the time. However, when a decision causes an accident, a court may find the at-fault person negligent. When someone goes against the rules or behaves contrary to the norm, he or she is negligent. Negligence may also occur in a more passive sense. In work incidents, a company that ignores safety protocol breaches is negligent. Thus, negligence is passive or active. 

How is negligence proven?

Proving negligence is not always easy. The at-fault party’s actions may not seem overt and obvious. There are generally four criteria a person should meet if he or she is negligent. First, did the responsible party have a duty to care about the victim’s well-being? Duty of care is the responsibility to do what is necessary to keep others safe. Second, did the responsible party ignore the duty? If an incident occurred, then yes. Third, did the action or inaction of the at-fault party lead to the accident? Finally, did the accident inflict damage to the victim? 

Some instances lend themselves more readily to a finding of negligence. When unsure whether a person is at fault for an injury accident, it helps to understand what may lead a court to deem someone negligent.