What is Negligence? Definition and Examples
Negligence is a failure to exercise reasonable care that results in harm or injury to another person. It’s a cornerstone of personal injury law. The National Center of State Courts reports that approximately 400,000 personal injury cases are filed yearly, many of which hinge on proving negligence.
This page will provide a comprehensive overview of negligence, starting with its legal definition and the components needed to prove it, including duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. We’ll discuss how the definition and application of negligence can vary by state, ensuring you understand the nuances specific to your jurisdiction. Additionally, we’ll outline how a personal injury attorney can effectively prove negligence in court.
What is Negligence in Law?
Legally speaking, “negligence” refers to a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in similar circumstances. To establish negligence, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s actions or omissions fell below the standard of care expected in the given situation, leading to harm.
Recently, the definition of negligence was debated in a 2024 case, Pickard v. Amazon. This case involved a battery charger purchased from Amazon that malfunctioned, causing a fire and the death of Archie Pickard. The charger was sold by a third-party seller but fulfilled by Amazon, raising questions about Amazon’s liability.
The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled on February 14, 2024, concluding that Amazon had a duty to ensure the safety of products sold through its platform, especially when using its fulfillment services.
Components needed to prove negligence
There are four main components needed to establish negligence, including the following:
1. Duty of care
Duty of care is defined as the legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm them. This typically arises when one party’s actions could reasonably be expected to affect the other party. In the case of Pickard v. Amazon, Amazon has policies ensuring product safety on its platform, including removing dangerous items and vetting new sellers.
2. Breach of duty of care
Going hand-in-hand with the first component of negligence, duty of care, is the actual breach. Breach of duty of care is the failure to meet the standard of care that a reasonable person would meet in the same circumstances. For the Pickard family and their attorneys, it seemed that the battery charger malfunction suggested a potential breach of Amazon’s safety protocols.
3. Causation
Clear causation must be illustrated next, showing that the defendant’s breach of duty directly caused the harm suffered by the plaintiff. It’s important to note that causation has two aspects:
Factual causation, meaning that the harm would not have occurred but for the defendant’s actions
Legal causation, which addresses whether the harm was a foreseeable result of the defendant’s actions
In Pickard v. Amazon, the causation was relatively straightforward, as the fire directly caused by the charger linked the breach to the harm.
4. Harm and damages
Lastly, the plaintiff must have suffered damage or injury due to the defendant’s breach of duty. The plaintiff must demonstrate that they have sustained a recognizable loss of injury, which can be physical, emotional, or financial.
Additionally, the plaintiff must seek monetary compensation for the harm caused by the defendant’s negligence. These are intended to restore the injured party to the position they would have been in if the negligence had not occurred.
In the case involving Archie Pickard, the harm suffered was his life.
Does the Legal Definition of Negligence Depend on the State You Live In?
Yes, the legal definition and application of negligence can vary depending on the state in which you live. While the fundamental principles of negligence are consistent across the United States, each state may have its own statutes, case law, and legal standards that influence how negligence is defined and proven in that jurisdiction.
Variations in duty of care
Take duty of care, for example – especially in premises liability cases. The specific circumstances under which a duty of care arises can vary depending on the category of person on the property, with most states categorizing these as invitees, licensees, and trespassers.
Some states, like Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, and Massachusetts, exclude trespassers from the traditional duty of care. This means the property owner wouldn't be considered responsible if someone were trespassing on the property when an injury occurred.
Other states, like Montana, New Hampshire, New York, and Tennessee, include trespassers in their concept of duty of care—therefore, residents in these states could be responsible for trespassers' injuries on their property.
Comparative and contributory negligence
Another way that negligence can vary is simply by which type of negligence a state observes. Many follow different rules regarding comparative and contributory negligence.
For example, states like California and Alaska follow pure comparative negligence, which allows plaintiffs to recover damages even if they are partially at fault. However, their recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault. Other states, like Texas and Colorado, abide by modified comparative negligence, where plaintiffs can only recover if they are less than 50% or 51% at fault. In a few states, like Maryland and Virginia, contributory negligence is followed, where if the plaintiff is found to be even marginally at fault, they cannot recover any damages.
What is a Prima Facie Case of Negligence?
In Latin, “prima facie” means “at first glance” or “based on first impression.” A prima facie case of negligence is an established set of facts that, if not rebutted, is sufficient to prove the legal claim of negligence – referring to the initial evidence that appears to support the claim without further proof or argument. It’s crucial to remember that even a prima facie case requires all four components of negligence to be proven – including duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and harm and damages.
Simpkins v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC
In the 2023 case Simpkins v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC, the plaintiff, Simpkins, sued Wal-Mart for negligence after slipping and falling in one of their stores. In this case, Simpkins was trying to purchase a 65-inch television and requested a flatbed cart from a Wal-Mart associate. Simpkins said he wasn’t given the flatbed cart; instead, he placed the television in a regular shopping cart. Later on, while still in the store, he turned a corner, the cart flipped over, and he fell.
The court found that Simpkins had presented sufficient evidence to support a prima facie negligence claim. The determination of proximate cause and contributory negligence was left for a jury to decide, indicating that Simpkins had successfully met the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case.
How Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Prove Negligence?
A personal injury lawyer can prove negligence by systematically gathering and presenting evidence that establishes each of the essential elements of a negligence claim.
One notable example is Dooley v. United States (2023), in which the plaintiff, while riding a bicycle, collided with an open car door operated by a U.S. Marines recruiter. The plaintiff sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and the court found the United States partially liable, establishing negligence based on the recruiter’s failure to ensure the car door didn’t pose a danger to passing cyclists.
While Dooley was held 40% responsible, he could still recover damages. Here’s how his lawyer proved negligence:
1. Establishing duty of care
Dooley’s attorney established that the U.S. Marine recruiter owed a duty of care to Dooley. As a motorist, the recruiter was responsible for ensuring the safety of other road users, including cyclists. The attorney references traffic laws that require drivers to check for cyclists before opening car doors, illustrating that the duty of care is well-established in similar cases.
2. Proving breach of duty
The attorney then focused on collecting evidence to prove breach of duty, including witness testimonies from bystanders who saw the incident happen and photos from the scene showing the position of the car and the bicycle, demonstrating the recruiter's lack of precaution.
3. Demonstrating causation
The lawyer established factual causation that Dooley’s injuries were directly caused by the recruiter’s action of opening the car door without looking, alongside medical reports showing that for the recruiter’s action, Dooley wouldn’t have been injured.
Proximate cause was demonstrated with expert testimony and prior incidents, showing that it was foreseeable that opening a car door without checking for oncoming cyclists could result in an accident.
4. Establishing harm
There are many ways in which harm could have been established. Still, in this case, Dooley’s attorney utilized his medical records and bills as documentation of his injuries – including immediate medical treatment. Other ways harm could have been established include providing proof of lost wages and Dooley’s testimony.
5. Calculating and proving damages
For the final step in proving negligence, Dooley’s attorney calculated and proved economic damages by providing itemized medical expenses and lost wages. Similarly, his attorney was able to quantify non-economic damages by using testimony from medical experts detailing the long-term impact of Dooley’s injuries.
Negligence FAQs
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