Negligence - Elements

Negligence occurs when someone fails to act as a reasonably careful person would in a situation, leading to potential personal injury and/or property damage.   

To win a negligence case, you must prove the essential elements are true:

  1. Duty of Care: The Defendant had an obligation to exercise a certain level of care to prevent harm.
  2. Breach of Duty: The Defendant did not exercise the required level of care.
  3. Causation: There is a connection between the Defendant’s breach of duty of care and the Plaintiff’s harm.
  4. Damages: The Plaintiff was harmed by the Defendant’s breach of duty of care. 

Example

While driving on the freeway, you were rear-ended by the Defendant due to distraction, leading to car damage. The Defendant lacks insurance, requiring you to sue for repair costs.

  1. Duty of Care: 02/25/2022, both you and the Defendant were driving on the 405-Northbound. The Defendant owed a duty of care to all drivers to avoid accidents.
  2. Breach of Duty: 02/05/2022, despite heavy traffic, the Defendant's distraction caused foreseeably avoidable damage.
  3. Causation: 02/05/2022, your car was damaged due to the Defendant's distraction.
  4. Damages:
    1. 02/05/2022, you lost $200 in wages being 2 hours late to work.
    2. 02/15/2022, car repair cost $6,500, totaling $6,700 in damages.

The four elements for general negligence cases may vary depending on the case.

Examples of negligence cases with additional or different elements:

  • Premises Liability: Harm due to the Defendant's careless property management
  • Products Liability: Harm from the Defendant's product negligence, leading to liability
  • Professional Negligence: Harm from a healthcare provider's negligent professional services
  • Negligence per se: Harm where the Defendant is presumed negligent for violating a law

Learn more about negligence cases.

🛈 Note that different states may have different laws about causes of actions and elements. This article is based on California law, please review your state law.

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