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
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What Are Premises Liability Claims?
America’s #1 accident lawyers explain how you can win your premises liability lawsuit
Accidents often happen when we least expect them. They often occur in the places that feel the most comfortable and mundane. People suffer injuries at the grocery store or a close friend’s home. As the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) reports, the leading cause of emergency room visits in the United States is slip and fall accidents. In fact, 8 million Americans (21.3%) seek emergency treatment for a fall each year. As such, the most common accidents are slip and fall accidents. However, they are not the only accidents that occur outside of the home. Accident victims who suffer injuries at a business or property may be able to file premises liability claims to recover their losses.
Premises liability law can be tricky. […]
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Fatal tractor trailer crash on I-81 in Lackawanna County
A Dickson City man and a Philadelphia woman were killed in a crash with a tractor trailer on I-81 in Moosic, PA at around 11:20 PM Wednesday, October 7, 2020. The Scranton Times-Tribune reports that fire departments from Moosic, Avoca and Taylor responded to the crash scene, along with multiple EMS units. The highway was shut down for hours overnight before reopening around 7AM on Thursday morning. Initial reports say that the tractor-trailer struck the victims’ vehicle while attempting to change lanes; both vehicles then went over an embankment and the car was crushed under the truck. The truck driver was not seriously injured.
Additional investigation will determine the exact cause of the crash. The days following a tractor-trailer crash will be critical in collecting and preserving evidence in order to determine if negligence contributed to this tragedy. Most tractor-trailers are equipped with black box data recorders containing all kinds of information about the truck and driver in the moments leading up to the crash. […]
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Frequently Asked Questions About Sepsis
Sepsis FAQ: I Was Diagnosed with Sepsis–Can I Sue the Hospital?
What is sepsis and is it serious?
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sepsis is the body’s extreme inflammatory response to an infection that occurs when harmful germs, bacteria, and toxins enter the blood, skin, lungs, urinary tract, or other tissue and cause an infection. If that infection is not treated, it can spread and cause sepsis.
The CDC classifies sepsis as a life-threatening medical emergency, sometimes resulting in the need for amputation, organ failure, and death.
Sepsis has a remarkably high mortality rate; about 50% of the 1.5 million people who contract it go into septic shock.
What Causes Sepsis?
Any infection can cause sepsis, but the most common types of infections that eventually lead to sepsis are:
- Pneumonia and Other Lung Infections
- Urinary Tract Infections
- Abdominal Infections
- Bloodstream Infections
- Kidney Infections
- Skin Infections
According to the CDC, […]
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