What Constitutes Negligence?

Maryland, Virginia, & Washington, D.C.

Negligence is a very broad legal term. It is the center of countless numbers of cases, and it causes millions of injuries every year. A party is negligent when they fail to perform an action that a careful, competent person would perform or when they do perform an action that a careful, prudent party would not perform.

In a lawsuit that involves negligence, there are four things that need to be proven: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. Simply put, it needs to be proven that the defendant had a duty, that they breached, and that it caused the damages to the plaintiff.

If a party is negligent, then it must be shown that they had a duty, but they failed at that duty. There are different types of duties for almost every person in society. For instance, a police officer has a different duty than a teacher. However, if either of them shirks their duty, and causes damage to another person, then it is considered negligence.

There is also a difference between intentionally and unintentionally failing a duty. If a person fails to perform a duty and it results in damage to another party, it is called negligence. However, if the person who fails to perform the duty does so intentionally or recklessly, it may be called gross negligence.

Since every person assumes some type of duty, there can be any number of cases where people have failed to perform a duty, which resulted in another person getting injured. Lawsuits involving negligence can range from auto accidents, product liability cases, or medical malpractice cases.

If you have been injured as a result of another person's negligence in Washington DC, Maryland, or Virginia, contact one of the experienced lawyers at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. Not only will the negligence lawyers at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. provide you with a free consultation, they will evaluate your case to determine if you were indeed the victim of someone's negligence.

Print this page