Negligence is the basis for most personal injury claims in New York. In simple terms, negligence is just careless behavior. When that careless behavior results in an injury or other damages, the negligent party may be held responsible for both the financial and intangible effects of their conduct.
When it comes to personal injury claims, proving negligence and establishing liability is more complex. Dive into all the details below to learn more about the legal elements of negligence and how those can affect your case.
Even though negligence is often considered to be careless conduct, there are specific elements associated with legal negligence.
To win a personal injury claim based on negligence, the plaintiff (or injured party) must prove all four of these elements:
The first element of negligence requires proving that the defendant owed you a duty of care to behave in a particular manner. A duty of care is a legal requirement establishing an acceptable standard of conduct in a given situation. It may be established by law, morals, or custom.
In most cases, the duty of care owed to others is to act the way that a reasonable person would act under the circumstances. For instance, when you drive a car, you owe others a duty of care to operate your vehicle in a safe and reasonable manner.
When someone acts outside of the accepted standard of care, they have breached their legal duty. This means that they failed to uphold the reasonable standard of conduct in a specific situation.
Think back to the example above involving operating a vehicle. If you decide to drive at a high rate of speed while texting, you are not operating your car reasonably safely. This means you have breached the duty of care you owe to others on the road.
The third element of negligence is causation. You must prove that the defendant’s actions caused your injuries or damages. Proving causation requires establishing both direct and proximate cause.
Direct causation is reasonably straightforward. This means that your injuries were the direct consequences of the defendant’s actions. Put another way, your injuries would not have occurred “but for” the defendant’s conduct. If your speeding and texting while driving causes you to slam into the back of another vehicle, your actions are the direct cause of the whiplash suffered by the accident victim.
Proximate cause is a little more complex. To prove proximate cause, you must show that your injuries were a foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s behavior.
Using the same example, is whiplash a foreseeable consequence of a speeding car slamming into the back of another? Absolutely! Therefore, the defendant’s behavior could be considered the proximate cause of the injuries sustained in the car accident.
Lastly, you must be able to prove that you suffered some actual damages as a result of the defendant’s conduct. This is often accomplished with medical records or other evidence showing the extent of your injuries. Negligence claims usually involve both economic damages and non-economic damages.
If you can successfully prove all four of these elements by a preponderance of the evidence, you have a high chance of success with your claim. Failure to prove any of the four elements may cause you to lose your case.
Victims injured by someone else’s negligence are generally entitled to recover economic and non-economic damages.
This means that you can recover compensation for both your monetary losses as well as your physical or emotional pain and trauma.
Some common examples of damages available in negligence claims include:
Calculating the value of all your damages can sometimes be a challenge. In many cases, the value of your non-economic damages may far exceed the value of your economic damages.
An experienced lawyer can help assess all the damages to which you are entitled and put an accurate value on your claim.
In some situations, the victim may get blamed for their accident. A comparative negligence rule allows a victim who is partially at fault to recover some of their damages from the other at-fault party.
New York follows a pure comparative negligence rule. This means a victim can still recover damages even if they are 99% at fault. However, their recovery will be reduced by their portion of the fault.
For instance, if you are found to be 30% responsible for your accident, you could still recover 70% of your damages from the defendant.
If you have been hurt in an accident in Utica, let us help you prove all the legal elements of negligence. We can help you get the compensation you deserve after your accident.
Contact Passalacqua & Associates, LLC today to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer.
Passalacqua & Associates, LLC provides legal representation for individuals facing personal injuries and criminal charges. Our attorneys offer compassionate guidance and aggressive strategies, and we’re committed to achieving the best possible outcomes. We’ll protect your rights and navigate legal complexities on your behalf.
Passalacqua & Associates, LLC proudly serves clients in Utica, Syracuse, and the surrounding upstate New York communities. We are dedicated to providing accessible and effective legal services to those in need of experienced personal injury and criminal defense representation within these regions.