Negligence is a legally actionable form of carelessness. Common negligence claims arise from car accidents, medical malpractice, and slip and fall accidents, among other claims.
If someone causes you harm through negligent behavior, you may qualify for personal injury compensation.
After all, why should you suffer because of someone else’s misconduct? Compensation is not automatic, however. To receive the amount you deserve, you’re going to have to fight for it.
The Four Elements of Negligence
To win a personal injury case based on negligence, you need to prove that four facts apply: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages.
Duty of Care
Florida law expects almost everyone to exercise a certain amount of care to ensure that their conduct does not injure others. Small children and mentally handicapped people are about the only people who are exempt from this duty.
Breach of Duty
There are two ways to breach a duty of care: by doing something you shouldn’t do (driving drunk, for example) and by failing to do something you should do (failing to remove ice from your parking lot, for example).
Causation
Causation is the link between the defendant’s misconduct and the harm they caused. Florida law recognizes two forms of causation: actual cause and proximate cause. Actual cause is present when you can honestly say that the plaintiff’s injuries would not have occurred but for the defendant’s negligence.
Proximate cause is present when the injuries were a foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s negligence. In other words, freak accidents do not generate liability–the accident must be reasonably foreseeable.
Damages
Under Florida personal injury law, “damages” in a negligence case almost always means some sort of physical harm. Once you prove physical harm, you can also collect damages for intangible harm, such as pain and suffering. Although Florida does recognize negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED), even this offense almost always requires some sort of physical impact.
The Burden of Proof in Negligence Cases
The burden of proof in a criminal prosecution is “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The burden of proof in a personal injury lawsuit based on negligence is “a preponderance of the evidence,” which is a much lower standard. A “preponderance of the evidence” means enough evidence to prove the defendant’s liability with more than 50% certainty.
Special Kinds of Negligence
Florida law recognizes certain special types of negligence, as described below.
Professional Negligence
When practicing their profession, a professional must observe a far higher standard of care than a layperson. Personal injury cases involving professional negligence usually involve a medical professional such as a doctor.
Typically, you need an expert witness to establish a doctor’s duty of care. You might assert, for example, that a doctor should have ordered a certain type of blood test in response to a certain group of symptoms.
Comparative Negligence
Comparative negligence applies when two or more parties share liability. For example, Florida law will reduce the liability of a defendant when the plaintiff was partly at fault. If the plaintiff was 25% at fault, for example, a court would reduce the defendant’s liability by 25%. If the plaintiff was more than 50% at fault, however, the defendant’s liability drops to zero.
Negligence Per Se
Negligence per se applies when the plaintiff’s claim relies on proving that the defendant violated a safety regulation. In this case, negligence is automatic—the defendant cannot successfully argue that their behavior was not negligent even though it was illegal.
Gross Negligence
Gross negligence is an extreme form of negligence. There is no clear dividing line between ordinary negligence and gross negligence—the determination is highly fact-dependent. If you can prove gross negligence, you might qualify to receive punitive damages.
Criminal Negligence
Criminal negligence is an extreme form of negligence that applies to criminal charges, not personal injury claims. It might apply to someone who causes a car accident by racing, for example.
The Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the deadline by which you must either file a personal injury claim, finalize a settlement, or forever hold your peace. In Florida, this deadline is usually two years after the injury, although certain exceptions apply.
Talk to a Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer About Your Negligence Claim
In the aftermath of a car accident or other incident, with medical bills piling up and lost earnings accumulating, you might not even know whether you have a viable claim.
Contact Coker Law Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation. They can review your case, help gather the necessary evidence, and guide you through the legal process. With the right help, you can get the compensation you deserve and hold the wrongdoer accountable for their actions. You can contact us online or call (904) 356-6071.