What Constitutes Negligence

If someone is injured and believes it to be the fault of another party, there may be grounds for a personal injury claim. Like any legal matter, there are a lot of factors that come into play with a personal injury cases and it is important to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney. In instances of personal injury the concept of negligence is most important.

Defining Negligence

Negligence can very simply be defined as carelessness. In many situations individuals have a “duty of care”; basically a responsibility to avoid harming others. If a person had a duty of care in a situation that lead to an injury, and they failed to meet that duty, they are negligent.

An Example of Negligence

Everyone who operates motor vehicle has a duty of care to obey traffic laws as well as to operate their vehicle in a safe manner, taking reasonable care. Factors like weather, road conditions, and traffic should all be taken into account while operating a motor vehicle. If the operator of a vehicle fails to act in a reasonable way, such as by disobeying a traffic law or using the vehicle in an unsafe manner or condition, they will have breached the duty of care that they owe to the drivers and passengers of their vehicle and other vehicles on the road.

Proving Negligence

To prove that a duty of care was breached to support a legal claim for negligence, some factors must be met:

• The defendant must be proven to have owed a duty of care to the injured party.
• The defendant must be proven to have failed to exercise duty of care toward the injured party.
• An injury resulted from the defendant failing to meet their duty of care.
• The injured party suffered damages due the injury.

Need Our Help Understanding Negligence?

In order to navigate the terrain of personal injury law it is imperative to have an experience personal injury attorney on your side. If you have been injured call the Thrush Law Group in Phoenix or Tucson to speak to a qualified Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer immediately.