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. […]
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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, […]
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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. […]
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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, […]
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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. […]
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