Negligence

What is Negligence?

Negligence is the failure to use a reasonable degree of care given the circumstances. The four elements of negligence are a duty owed to a plaintiff, a breach of that duty by the defendant, proximate cause, and injury or damage suffered by the plaintiff. It is essentially carelessness.

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, negligence is defined as “the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in a similar situation.” As such, negligence refers to a failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in similar circumstances. It forms the basis of many personal injury claims and lawsuits, where a plaintiff alleges that their injuries or damages were caused by the negligent actions or omissions of another party.

Key elements of negligence include:

Duty of care: The legal obligation of an individual or entity to exercise reasonable care to avoid causing harm to others. This duty may arise from professional relationships, ownership of property, or other circumstances.
Breach of duty: A failure to fulfill the duty of care by acting or failing to act in a way that deviates from what a reasonably prudent person would do.
Causation: The link between the defendant’s breach of duty and the plaintiff’s injuries or damages. It must be shown that the defendant’s actions or omissions directly caused harm to the plaintiff.
Damages: Actual harm or losses suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the defendant’s negligent conduct, which may include physical injuries, emotional distress, property damage, or financial losses.

Legal principles related to negligence aim to compensate injured parties for their losses and encourage individuals and businesses to act responsibly to prevent foreseeable harm. For example, if your landlord doesn’t fix a rickety set of steps you let him to, and you fall through the steps a week later, the landlord is negligent in his duty of care. Understanding the elements of negligence is essential in personal injury cases and other legal disputes where liability is based on the failure to exercise reasonable care under specific circumstance

More information about Negligence

NC Medical System Charged with Negligence to Pay $25 Million

A father has been awarded $25 million by a Cumberland County, North Carolina jury after finding the Cape Fear Valley Health System negligent in reporting signs of child abuse against the man’s son. The boy, who lived with his mother at the time, eventually suffered brain injury after additional abuse.

FayObserver.com reports that the lawsuit alleged if the hospital had reported signs of child abuse when the boy was initially treated for a broken wrist and other broken bones that he would not have received a beating later that “caved in his skull and took away his ability to talk or use his arms and legs.”

The young boy was taken to the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in 2003 when he was six years old. At the time he had surgery on his wrist, he was also vomiting, and further x-rays revealed an old rib fracture. […]

Pennsylvania Woman Awarded $23 Million in Medical Malpractice Case

WFMZ-TV reports a Lehigh County, Pennsylvania jury has awarded a Lehighton woman $23 million in a medical malpractice case. The woman had both legs amputated after her home care nurse failed to evaluate and report an infected catheter for appropriate treatment.

The lawsuit alleged the delay in reporting the infection led to a bloodstream infection that ultimately required the woman’s legs to be amputated below the knees.

The jury found the nurse and her employer, St. Luke’s Miners Memorial Home Care, negligent in caring for the plaintiff.

A spokesman for St. Luke’s said, “As with all malpractice cases, this is a complicated situation, but the resultant jury award is excessive and shocks the conscience.” The spokesman did not indicate if they would appeal the verdict.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a form of medical negligence, […]

North Carolina Physician’s Assistant Found Negligent in Mother’s Death

A physician’s assistant (PA) was found negligent in the death of a 42-year-old woman from congestive heart failure less than two months after giving birth to twins at The McDowell Hospital in Marion, NC. The lawsuit was brought by the husband who claimed the defendants did not do all they could to save the life of his wife.

The man will be awarded $667,000 in the case where he was seeking $6.8 million. The suit was filed against seven doctors, one physician’s assistant, Asheville Radiology, The McDowell Hospital and McDowell Emergency Physicians. Most of the defendants settled out of court, however, two doctors, the PA and McDowell Emergency Physicians took the case to court.

The woman was diagnosed with pneumonia after giving birth in February, 2008, and was prescribed a medication for treatment upon her discharge. Suffering from shortness of breath and nausea, the woman returned to the emergency room several times within the following weeks and was again treated for pneumonia. […]

Washington Cosmetic Clinic To Pay $1.8 Million in Wrongful Death Suit

Sono Bello Body Contour Center, a cosmetic clinic in Bellevue, Washington, has agreed to pay $1.8 million to the family of a bride-to-be who went to the clinic for liposuction in May 2009 and died hours later. The 28-year-old went to the clinic for the procedure then checked into a nearby hotel to recover. The hotel maids found the woman’s body the next morning. The King County Medical Examiner ruled that she died from “acute lidocaine intoxication.”

Lidocaine is a nerve blocker that is pumped into the body to suppress pain during liposuction. When a representative from the Society of Plastic Surgeons was asked by KING 5 News to interpret the levels of lidocaine found, she said they were “really, really high, stratospheric high.”

In the settlement, neither Sono Bello nor the doctor admitted any wrongdoing. The family’s lawyer said that Sono Bello offered a higher, […]

Iowa to Pay $875K After Hospital Error Resulted in Amputation of Leg

The Des Moines Register reports that the state of Iowa has settled a lawsuit filed against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics after a young girl went to the hospital in 2007 for a stomach surgery, and had to have her leg amputated after she developed compartment syndrome.

The state will pay $875,000 to the now 16-year-old girl who had her right leg amputated and her left leg now suffers a permanent foot drop. The suit alleged that the girl’s legs were elevated for over 10 hours causing increased pressure to build in her leg muscle compartments, leading to muscle and nerve damage.

The hospital is overseen by the Iowa Board of Regents and the State Appeals Board had to approve the settlement.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a form of medical negligence, you may have a medical malpractice claim. […]

Lawsuit Settles for $650K After Sponge Left in Patient

The Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida paid $650,000 to settle a lawsuit against a man with a “retained foreign object and medication error.” The man also reached a confidential settlement against two radiologists.

The now 68-year-old man was admitted to the hospital in October 2009 to undergo surgery for diverticulitis. His recovery was slow, and after five months he was in more pain than prior to his surgery. He went back to the doctor and had several X-rays and CT scans before the surgeon and gastrointestinal doctor found a surgical sponge in his stomach that had been left behind during surgery.

The man declined further treatment at Good Samaritan and went to another hospital to have the sponge removed and a portion of his intestines, due to perforation. The man also received an incorrect dosage of blood pressure medicine, however, he did not have any lasting issues over that error. […]

Colorado Medical Malpractice Suit Against Nurses Settled

Undocumented immigrant receives $700,000 in medical malpractice suit settlement

The Colorado Springs, city-owned Memorial Health System settled a lawsuit filed by an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who claimed her baby suffered severe brain injuries during delivery four years ago. The now four-year-old is a spastic quadriplegic who cannot stand, sit or walk, and has the intellectual level of a six-month-old.

The city paid $700,000 to the child because the care provided by the Memorial nurses and the doctor “fell below the standard of care” by failing to properly interpret fetal heart monitoring strips that showed the baby in distress during labor, having the mother hold her breath which further depleted the oxygen going to the baby and delivering the baby vaginally rather than performing a cesarean section.

The lawsuit only covered the negligence by the nurses. The doctor is employed by Peak Vista Community Health Centers which is a Federally Qualified Health Center. […]

$1.25 Million Awarded After Surgeon Was Found Negligent

Surgeon found negligent in botched procedure

A 67-year-old Ithaca, New York woman was awarded $1.25 million after her surgeon was found negligent when a 2007 gallbladder operation left her gravely ill and fighting for her life. The surgeon at Cayuga Medical Center had been practicing for over 15 years when found at fault.

The woman entered the hospital complaining of an upset stomach when she was told her gallbladder needed to be removed. The woman’s bowel was unintentionally cut during surgery, yet the surgeon did not inspect the bowel for injury prior to completing the surgical procedure.

Almost immediately the woman became severely ill, exhibiting multiple signs of infection. 32 hours after the first operation, she was operated on again to find the source of the infection, and then to repair the injured bowel. The woman also underwent four more surgeries, needed a ventilator, […]

Widow Awarded $6.7 Million in Medical Malpractice Case

The widow of a man who died in 2005 after an ATV accident was awarded $6.7 million by a Maine jury in a medical malpractice case against Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The man was flown to the center after the accident, and according to the lawsuit, the doctors failed to follow up on tests indicating internal bleeding, that ultimately led to the man’s death.

The man arrived at the hospital suffering from several broken ribs, among other injuries, and CT scans ordered by the emergency department physician indicated there was also internal bleeding. The doctors caring for the man failed to follow up on the internal bleeding by not issuing an order for X-rays to monitor the bleeding, according to the suit. Three days later, the internal bleeding caused one of the man’s lungs to collapse, and the lack of oxygen precipitated a massive fatal heart attack. […]

$400,000 Awarded In Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Lawsuit

A Northampton woman has been awarded $400,000 in her malpractice suit against a Bethlehem doctor who did not diagnose her breast cancer properly. The jury found Dr. Mark Schadt negligent in his care of the woman.

In April 2004 she found two lumps in her breasts, and in May Dr. Schadt performed a fine-needle aspiration biopsy and the results were negative for breast cancer. In March 2005 the patient had a second fine-needle biopsy and the results were positive. A month later, after having an excisional biopsy, she was told she had invasive carcinoma stage III cancer. She had a radical mastectomy on the cancerous right breast and a simple mastectomy on her left breast.

The lawsuit alleged Dr. Shadt should have followed the first biopsy with a complete biopsy that would have removed a larger tissue sample to test.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a form of medical negligence, […]

Fiery Crash in NY Kills One Teen, Injures Four

Speeding suspected to be the cause of the fatal teen crash

Teen Pulled From Burning Car after Fiery Crash In N.Y.

One teen is dead and four are injured following a Wednesday night crash in Rush, N.Y. Speed is suspected in the crash where the vehicle overturned and caught fire. One man heard the car go by, and then heard the crash. He rushed to the scene in his truck and was able to pull one girl out by cutting her seatbelt, saving her life. All she remembers of the incident is swerving, panicking, and calling her mom to tell her she had been in an accident. Most of the five teens grew up together.

Iowa Man Killed In Head-On Collision

A 61-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene of an accident on I-80 Wednesday night when a van crossed over the median and crashed with his Chevy HHR, […]

$2.5 Million Awarded for Failure to Diagnose Colon Cancer

A Virgo County, Indiana jury has awarded $2.5 million to a now 42-year-old former police officer whose doctor failed to diagnose his colon cancer in 2004. The Tribune Star reports the lawsuit was filed against Dr. John Morse of AP&S Clinic in Terre Haute, Indiana in January 2009.

At 35 years old, the man went to the doctor with rectal bleeding and complaints of other gastric discomforts. Neither a sigmoidoscopy nor colonoscopy was done to rule out colon cancer. An upper G.I. test was done because of other problems the patient reported. After moving to another state and consulting a different doctor in 2006, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 incurable colon cancer. He has been given less than a year to live.

Under Indiana’s statutory limit, the award will be reduced to $1.25 million.

Our experienced lawyers know that medical errors are responsible for between 44,000 and 98,000 wrongful deaths every year in American hospitals. […]

One Dead After Car Crashes Into Chicago Church

Late-night car crash into church kills one and sends two to the emergency room

One Dead After Car Crashes Into Chicago Church

NBC Chicago reports a 22-year-old is dead and two other people are injured following a two car crash around 3:00 a.m. on the 1900 block of West Washington Blvd on the city’s Near West Side Sunday morning. The 22-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and two others were taken to the hospital in good condition.

Paul Smiths College Student Killed In Adirondacks Car Accident

A 19-year-old student lost control of his 2002 Saturn sedan on Route 86 in Ray Brook, N.Y. on Sunday morning and slid into the path of an oncoming 2010 Honda CRV driven by a 57-year-old male. The student was pronounced dead at the scene and the passenger of the Honda suffered multiple fractures, […]

Negligence Alleged in Lawsuit against City in Teen’s Death

In November 2009, a student was killed crossing the dangerous Luten Avenue outside Tottenville High School in Staten Island, New York, reports silive.com. Following the death of the straight-A student, the city installed traffic lights, concrete medians, and other safety devices along the street.

Her mother has filed a wrongful death suit against the NYDOT and the city alleging they failed to have the proper protection in place prior to her daughter’s death despite requests by public officials and the school’s principal for traffic signals. The senior high school student was crossing the street around 11:30 a.m. when a Nissan, which had stopped to allow her to cross, was rear-ended by another car, pushing it into the victim and pinning her under the rear-tire.

The victim underwent emergency surgery at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, but died six days later. Her mother contends her daughter did not receive proper medical treatment at the scene of the accident which resulted in her death. […]

South Carolina Mother Files Lawsuit Over Fire That Killed Her Son

SCnow.com reports a Lamar, South Carolina mother has filed a lawsuit against several parties, including her landlord and an electric company, over her 11-year-old’s death in a fire two years ago when the family lived in a manufactured home.

The lawsuit claims the home was “sloppily, recklessly and dangerously electrically wired and uninhabitable” as the suit cites several electrical wiring errors. The lawsuit also claims gross negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death. Knowledge of the electrical problems and the “defendants’ failure to exercise reasonable care and comply with the law” led to the child’s untimely death.

A fire investigator has testified the fire was a result of faulty wiring in the home’s stove.

The lawsuit alleges the landlord was aware of the electrical hazards and of other recurrent electrical problems at the home, and Carolina Power and Light Company had been given notice and also knew of the problems. […]

New Hampshire Woman Sues Hospital & Doctors for $5 Million

A woman formerly from New Hampshire is suing two doctors and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Nashua for $5 million alleging they failed to diagnose and treat her bacterial meningitis which left her permanently disabled, reports The Telegraph.

On January 10, 2008, the woman went to the emergency room after suffering for three days with vomiting, headache and fever. She was treated for an ear infection and sent home. With worsening symptoms, she returned to the hospital two days later. The second time she also had hearing loss, altered mental state, and difficulties walking. Her lawsuit states even though a CT scan and other tests suggested something serious was wrong, the doctor diagnosed her with stress and a sinus infection and sent her home.

She returned to the hospital two more times before she was given a spinal tap which showed she was suffering from two life-threatening conditions. […]

Family of City Worker Killed In Mower Accident Settles Lawsuit

A confidential last-minute settlement has been reached in the lawsuit brought by the family of a city Parks Department employee who was killed in 2003 by a runaway lawnmower, reports the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Mass.

Industrial and agricultural accidents can occur for a variety of reasons. One of the leading causes, however, is a manufacturing or design defect that makes heavy machinery dangerous to users. You should be able to trust that the product you are using is safe and that you have been given proper warning of any risks the product poses. At Munley Law we understand the complexity of product liability laws and the challenge of proving a case, and we can help you get the compensation you deserve.

The 54-year-old man died from injuries he sustained when he was run over by a 6,000 lb. large capacity mower as it rolled down a hill. […]

Neurosurgeon Awarded $3 Million for Injury at Medical Center

The Scranton Times Tribune reports a neurosurgeon who suffered a broken leg when he was hit by a hospital bed being pushed down the hall, has been awarded $3.25 million in his personal injury lawsuit against Community Medical Center.

When you are hurt because of someone else’s actions, negligence or reckless behavior, you have suffered a personal injury. And when a personal injury takes place, the responsible person or company that caused the injury should be held accountable. At Munley Law, we understand the complexity of Pennsylvania’s personal injury laws and the challenge of proving negligence, and we can help you get the compensation you deserve.

In February 2005, the doctor was in the operating room reviewing a patient’s chart when he was struck by the bed. The physician is a diabetic and the trauma he suffered from the broken leg led to an infection, […]

$821,000 Awarded To Family of Elderly Woman Who Wandered From Care Facility

Nursing home found negligent for elderly woman’s death

The family of a 74-year-old woman with dementia who died after wandering from an assisted care living facility in 2007 has been awarded $821,000, reports OregonLive.com.

1.5 million Americans live in nursing homes throughout the country. Of these, it is estimated that as many as 35,000 die prematurely every year due to negligence, abuse or neglect. The breach of the standard care when directed against our elderly parents by paid givers should be punished severely. If your elderly loved one has been injured or died while in the care of a nursing home or other healthcare facility, contact our attorneys at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today.

The woman’s skeleton was found in May by a young boy who was searching through blackberry bushes for his lost cat. Her fully clothed remains were found only one quarter-mile from the care facility. […]

Oklahoma Mother Files $10 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Prison

The mother of a man from Tecumseh, Oklahoma has filed a $10 million lawsuit against a prison corporation and the state in the death of her son.

Her son and his wife were vacationing in New Mexico when they were killed by two prisoners who had escaped from an Arizona prison. The lawsuit was filed against the company operating the private prison, Management & Training Corporation of Delaware, and claims the state failed to maintain the inmates and properly train the employees.

Losing a loved due to someone else’s negligence can be difficult to understand. When you are grieving, hurt and worried about the future, it is uncomfortable to talk about insurance claims, wrongful death settlements, and cash awards; however, if someone caused your loved one’s death you should seek the compensation you deserve. At Munley, Munley & Cartwright we represent individuals and families that have lost a loved one or been seriously injured due to the negligence of another. […]