Negligence
Failing to take reasonable care to avoid causing injury or loss to another person. If you act carelessly and someone gets hurt as a result, you may be legally responsible for the harm caused.
Explanation
Negligence is one of the most common grounds for personal injury lawsuits. Unlike intentional torts, negligence doesn't require that someone meant to cause harm—only that they failed to act as a reasonably careful person would.
To prove negligence, a plaintiff must establish four elements: duty (the defendant owed them a duty of care), breach (the defendant failed to meet that duty), causation (the breach caused the injury), and damages (actual harm resulted).
The "reasonable person" standard is objective—courts ask how a typical, prudent person would have acted in similar circumstances. Professionals like doctors and lawyers are held to the standard of care in their profession. Negligence can also apply to property owners who fail to maintain safe conditions.
Real-World Examples
Car Accident Negligence
A driver is texting while driving and rear-ends a stopped car at a red light, injuring the other driver.
The texting driver is negligent. They had a duty to drive safely, breached it by texting, caused the accident, and the victim suffered injuries. They are liable for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Medical Malpractice
A surgeon leaves a surgical sponge inside a patient during an operation. The patient develops an infection requiring additional surgery.
This is professional negligence (malpractice). The surgeon breached the medical standard of care. The patient can recover damages for additional medical costs, pain, and suffering.
Premises Liability
A grocery store knows about a broken handrail on its stairs but doesn't repair it for weeks. An elderly customer falls and breaks her hip.
The store is negligent in maintaining safe premises. The store had a duty to customers, knew of the hazard, failed to fix it, and this failure caused injury.