Negligence is one of the most important aspects of any personal injury case. Whether or not you can establish liability determines if you can be compensated for your expenses and how much you will receive. Contact a Geneva, Illinois personal injury lawyer to discuss your case today.
What is Negligence and How is it Established?
Negligence is the failure to behave with the care that a reasonable person would exercise in any given situation. In a personal injury case, negligence is established by examining the four key factors listed below.
Duty of Care
In any given situation an individual may owe someone a duty of care if the law recognizes a certain relationship between the plaintiff and defendant. The relationship could be doctor and patient, friend and friend, or the individuals could even be two strangers driving on the road at the same time. However, even if the two are strangers, anyone who drives a car on a public road owes other drivers and pedestrians a legal duty to safely operate their vehicles. Even proving that both drivers were on the road at once can establish a duty of care.
Breach of Duty
After determining that there is a duty of care the next step is to prove that the duty was breached. Continuing with the two drivers example, one person may breach their duty of care to the other by driving while intoxicated, texting, or traveling at excessive speed. These actions fail to exercise reasonable care.
Cause
Simply breaching the duty of care is not enough to prove negligence. There must be evidence that the breach directly caused the victim’s injuries and damage. For example, if you can prove that the defendant was texting while driving but you rear-ended a different person in the next lane over, there is likely no causation between those two occurrences. However, if the defendant was texting while driving and rear-ended your car, causing your injuries, that will contribute to negligence.
Damages
Finally, you must prove how the accident impacted you. You must have suffered actual damages like physical injury or property damage.
What Impact Does Negligence Have on My Personal Injury Case?
Negligence is arguably one of the most important factors in a personal injury case. It determines whether the defendant is actually responsible for compensating the victim for their various expenses. Without proof of negligence, there will not be a ruling in favor of the plaintiff.
Comparative negligence is another important factor. Some states, including Illinois, abide by comparative negligence laws. These rules mean that a court will assign a percentage of the blame for the accident to all parties involved. You can only receive compensation if you are less than 50% responsible. Establishing negligence is crucial in ensuring individuals are fairly compensated for their damages.
Contact a skilled personal injury lawyer for experienced legal counsel and to discuss your rights and options during your personal injury case.
