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
$1.7 Million For Nerve Damage Following Baby’s Birth
Hospital responsible for mother’s nerve damage due to negligent anti-nausea injection
The Post-Standard reports a New York state Supreme Court jury has awarded a home-care nurse almost $1.7 million for permanent nerve damage following her baby’s birth three years ago.
The lawsuit was filed against Community General Hospital after the hospital administered an intramuscular injection in an attempt to stop the woman’s vomiting following the birth of her third child. The suit claimed the injection was given too low causing damage to the woman’s sciatic nerve.
The 34-year-old mother now suffers from lower back pain and is unable to sit or stand for any length of time and has other physical problems as a result of the nerve damage. Although she still works as a home health care nurse, her doctors believe her condition will become worse.
Our attorneys at Munley, Munley, […]
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$3.5 Million Awarded In Lawsuit Over Botched Surgery
The Baltimore Sun reports a 53-year-old woman has won $3.5 million in her medical malpractice suit against Vascular Surgery Associates and two of its surgeons following a botched surgery.
In 2007 the woman’s surgery for blocked arteries ended in devastating injuries including damage to her spinal cord which left her a paraplegic. The lawsuit claimed the doctor used an improper grafting technique which led to various injuries including blood loss, and paralysis.
The award included $1.3 million in noneconomic damages, $2 million for future medical bills, and more than $200,000 for prior medical bills.
Our medical malpractice lawyers have decades of experience handling complex cases involving medical errors, misdiagnoses, and hospital infections. We will evaluate your case thoroughly and explore all potential sources of recovery – we fight to protect the rights of patients. […]
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Family Accepts $5.2 Million After Caesarean Section Death
The family of a 32-year-old woman who died following childbirth in 2007 has accepted $5.2 million from two doctors and the Albany Medical Center Hospital, reports the Albany Times Union. The settlement also includes mandated changes in procedures at the hospital.
After a normal and healthy pregnancy, the mother bled to death following a Caesarean section despite several calls to her primary obstetrician stating she was bleeding internally. After the third call, the doctor came to operate on the patient, but by then she had lost too much blood, the newspaper reported.
Instead of going to trial in August, the family accepted the settlement because they could not have won the non-monetary stipulations in a trial. These stipulations require the hospital to take specific steps to enhance patient safety.
Our attorneys at Munley, Munley, & Cartwright are experienced in medical malpractice lawsuits and will evaluate your case thoroughly and explore all potential sources of recovery – we fight to protect the rights of patients. […]
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$1.6 Million Awarded In College Basketball Player’s Death
According to the Associated Press, a jury has awarded parents $1.6 million in their medical malpractice lawsuit filed following their son’s death on an Eastern Connecticut State University basketball court.
The 22-year-old senior collapsed during a basketball game in 2005. The parents alleged the doctor who examined him in 2001 should have found the congenital heart defect known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The doctor found him to be in excellent health and signed his college medical form.
The doctor scheduled an echocardiogram for the young man after the examination, but he did not show up for the test.
Our attorneys at Munley, Munley, & Cartwright are experienced in medical malpractice lawsuits and will evaluate your case thoroughly and explore all potential sources of recovery – we fight to protect the rights of patients. If you or a loved one has been harmed by medical negligence, […]
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Patients Undergo Risky, Unnecessary Medical Procedure
The Baltimore Sun reports hundreds of heart patients from St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland may have undergone an unnecessary medical procedure. St. Joseph Medical Center calls itself the busiest heart catheterization center in Maryland, and is thought of as one of the primary cardiac care facilities in the area.
At least 369 patients have received letters informing them they may have received expensive and potentially dangerous coronary stents they did not need. At the time of their surgery the patients were told they needed the stent to open an artery which had severe blockage. They have since learned their blockage was only minor.
Dr. Mark Midei is the only doctor implicated in the hospital investigation so far. He allegedly told patients they had up to a 90 percent blockage, when in fact they had only a 10 percent blockage. In other patients, he placed two stents when only one was necessary. […]
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