What Needs to Be Proven in a Negligence Case: 4 Elements
While negligence cases are unfortunately common, it is still a legal theory that has to be effectively proven in a court of law. Ultimately, negligence is when someone acts irresponsibly which, by fault, causes harm to someone else. What is necessary in declaring negligence? Is this something you can face on your own? What sort of attorney can help with a potential negligence claim? Not only is it important to understand what is needed for a negligence case, but you’ll need to know the four elements of negligence that will allow you to prove fault.
How Do You Prove Negligence?
Proving negligence includes four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. You cannot have one without them all as it is necessary for all to be present for a negligence case to hold up in a court of law.
4 Elements of a Negligence Claim
In order to prove negligence in the state of South Carolina, the four elements need to be established. You cannot have one without the other as they all play crucial roles in the negligence case as a whole. In order to hold an entity responsible for any harm, negligence must be proven via the four elements listed below.
1. Duty
Ultimately, it must be determined if the defendant owed the plaintiff a legal duty or act. Was there a legal responsibility to do or not to do something? Typically, in negligence cases, the relationship or connection between the two parties exists because of a legal duty or some act that is expected from one person to the other. For example:
- A tractor trailer driver is expected to operate with the appropriate freight weight and load distribution meeting a certain level of expected due diligence.
- Someone operating a vehicle is expected to operate said vehicle safely meeting a certain level of expected, or due, care.
2. Breach
Now that understanding legal duty has been established, a breach of that duty is when someone violates a legal responsibility they owed. Sometimes, the breach is straight-forward, like when a truck driver operates a vehicle for too many consecutive hours over a certain time period in violation of S.C. Code of Laws Sec. 56-5-90. The duty is established by law or industry regulation. Other times, the breach isn’t exactly clear cut, and it will need to be developed by a lawyer using the circumstances and available evidence. For example, when a driver turns left in front of another motorist believing that he/she has sufficient separation to complete the turn. Here, the standard of care must be established by the lawyer at trial, and the court will create a “reasonable person” standard by asking: What would a person of ordinary and common sense do (or not do) in a similar situation? Depending on the situation, like a trucking collision, other tractor trailer drivers with ample experience may testify to what is the standard or expectation in their specific industry. To continue with the above examples, here is how they would progress from determining legal duty of care to if there was or was not a breach of duty.
- The tractor trailer driver felt his load shift but didn’t bother to get it readjusted so now he is more likely to roll the trailer.
- The person operating the vehicle was somehow impaired and could not safely drive the vehicle.
3. Causation
Following duty and breach, it must be proven that negligence is what caused the injury or wrongful death. There are two aspects to causation in a negligence case: direct cause and proximate cause.
Direct cause uses the “but for” test to help determine if the action is a direct cause of the injury. It must be proven that the injury wouldn’t have happened “but for” the action taken by the defendant. In plain speak, was the injury a direct result of the defendant’s actions or failure to act?
The proximate cause examines whether the injury was foreseeable, or a reasonable consequence of the action/inaction of the defendant.
Staying true to the examples above, below are continued examples of both direct and proximate causes:
- A tractor trailer driver doesn’t take the time to ensure his load is evenly distributed and later is forced to take a sharp turn. The uneven load causes the trailer to roll or not take the turn as smoothly as it should, causing direct impact to another vehicle on the road. Had the driver taken time to adjust the trailer weight, this could have been avoided. Such a collision was foreseeable and the natural consequence from not taking adequate time to load the trailer.
- A person operating a vehicle runs a red light and hits someone else. This collision is the foreseeable result of disregarding the traffic light.
4. Damages
Damages are the measuring stick by which the defendant becomes responsible to make the injured person whole, or to restore the injured party to his/her pre-injury status. Typically, this is in the form of money payments, but can also be in repairs, especially if pertaining to vehicle-related incidents.
The categories of damages available to an injured person can be vast. There are economic damages (such as medical bills or future medical costs); lost income, lost wages, lost PTO, lost benefits or losses to your earnings capacity; there are non-economic damages (such as pain or suffering or emotional upset); and can be punitive or exemplary damages under certain circumstances. Your injury may provide for the recovery of attorneys fees or interest lost on the money award that you should’ve already received. This is why having a trial lawyer from Francis & Reid Trial Lawyers is so critical to your recovery – because we appreciate all of your losses and we know how to recover the full extent of your damages.
Protecting Your Rights and Understanding What is Needed for a Negligence Case
When it comes down to it, it is hard to get through negligence cases alone. If you’re faced with an injury or lost loved one due to negligent behavior, you’re entitled to complete compensation. Not what the insurance companies’ algorithm tells you that your case is worth, but what a trial lawyer knows your case is worth. Working with an experienced attorney will help you determine the legal duty of care, how or why the breach occurred, the resulting injuries caused by the breach, and ultimately what damages you’re entitled to recover and the available sources to provide for that recovery.
The Francis & Reid Trial Lawyers are dedicated to helping people recover and receive the compensation they deserve.
At Francis & Reid, we know that there is no such thing as “car accidents.” These are collisions and car crashes that result from someone breaching a duty of care.
Contact our office today to begin working toward getting the compensation you’re entitled to.