Negligence is when someone doesn’t mean to hurt you, but they’re careless, and it ends up hurting you anyway. It’s not like they punched you or something on purpose; that would be an intentional tort, but they should have known better. Like a driver texting while driving, or a store leaving water on the floor, or a doctor making a mistake.

Sometimes, the law even says that if someone breaks a safety rule, like a traffic law, it can automatically count as negligence. That’s called negligence per se.

Let’s break it down. There are four big things you need to prove in a negligence case. Four elements. If you can show all four, you might win your case.

Duty of Care

First, there has to be a duty of care. That means the person who hurt you had a legal responsibility to act safely. Like drivers have a duty to follow the rules of the road. Doctors have a duty to treat patients properly. Store owners have a duty to keep their floors safe.

Sometimes, people or groups have immunity, which means you can’t sue them. Under this class are teachers, schools, and government bodies.

They can’t always get sued even if they mess up. That’s why knowing the duty of care is important. Because if there’s no duty, there’s no case.

Breach of Duty

Next is breach. A breach is just that they didn’t do what they were supposed to. They broke their duty.

Like if a driver is texting while driving and hits someone, that’s a breach. Or if a store leaves a puddle and someone slips, that’s a breach. Or a doctor messes up a surgery.

It’s not just mean behavior but actually failing to act like a reasonable person would in that situation. And that’s what lawyers look at. Would a normal, careful person have done something different? If yes, then it qualifies as a breach.

Causation

You have to show that the breach directly caused your injury. That’s the “but for” thing, as in, would you have been hurt but for what they did?

There’s also the “could they have predicted it” part. Like, if someone’s drunk driving, it’s predictable that they could hit a pedestrian or another car. That makes it easier to prove.

But sometimes it’s more complicated, like medical stuff, and that’s when expert witnesses help explain it.

Damages

Finally, damages. This is the stuff that actually hurts you. Medical bills, lost wages, emotional pain, broken stuff, and even lost time with family. You have to show the court that the negligence actually caused real harm.

Without damages, even if someone was careless, you don’t have a personal injury case. The law cares about real harm.

Taking the Case to Court

Courts only have jurisdiction over certain people and places. You have to file in the right state, usually where the accident happened or where the person who caused it lives. Wrong county, and you might mess up your case.

Venue matters too, so you have to file in the proper court, in the proper county. Filing in the wrong place can delay things, cost extra money, or even kill your case. So it’s really important for you to get this right.

Key Takeaways

●        The law defines negligence as when a person’s careless act causes harm to someone else.

●        To prove it, you need four things: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

●        Duty means they were supposed to be careful. Breach means they weren’t careful.

●        Causation means their mistake actually caused your injury.

●        Sometimes you need experts to explain tricky stuff so the court understands. 

●        Negligence per se is when someone breaks a law, and that automatically counts as negligence.