When someone is injured as a result of the negligent behavior of another, they may be entitled to recover a settlement or jury award as compensation for their financial losses and suffering. A settlement may be negotiated through a personal injury claim or won through a jury award, which involves proving the four elements of negligence.
Understanding the four elements of negligence in a personal injury claim is the first step to knowing whether you could have a successful claim. An experienced personal injury attorney has this knowledge and uses it to assess whether a potential client has a valid injury claim.
If you or a loved one was injured as a result of the negligent actions of another, you do not have to handle the consequences alone. Schedule a free consultation with a local personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights.
What Are the Four Elements of Negligence?
While personal injury laws vary by state, most personal injury claims based on negligence require proof of four core elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
1. Duty to exercise reasonable care. To be held liable for an accident or injury, a person or organization must have owed a legal duty to act with reasonable care in the first place. For example, a motorist has a duty to exercise reasonable care while driving to avoid motor vehicle accidents and accidents involving pedestrians. A business, homeowner, or organization has a duty to exercise reasonable care to provide a safe environment for people on their property. What defines reasonable care may depend on the situation, sometimes requiring expert testimony to define the appropriate standard of care.
2. Breach of reasonable care (negligence). Next, a personal injury attorney must prove that the defendant breached their duty to exercise reasonable care. This occurs when someone fails to act as a reasonably careful person would in the same situation, which puts others at risk of harm. Some examples include a motorist getting behind the wheel while intoxicated and speeding on a crowded roadway or a shop owner failing to put a sign next to a puddle of liquid on the floor in a timely manner.
Note: Washington State is a comparative fault state, which means that fault can be shared in a personal injury case. Damages are awarded based on contributory fault law which says that you may only be awarded damages proportionate to the percentage of fault contributed by the defendant and nothing for the amount of fault that you contributed. For example, if the injured party was speeding at the time of the accident while the other driver failed to yield the right of way on a left-hand turn, the speeding driver may be found partially at fault, which could reduce the amount of compensation they are eligible to receive.
3. Causation. The third element that must be proved is causation. This means that there must be a direct link between the negligent behavior and the harm suffered by the injured victim. The negligent act must have at least contributed to the injury (actual cause) and the resulting harm must have been a reasonably foreseeable outcome (proximate cause). In some cases, an expert witness will be hired to explain how the negligent behavior led to the injury.
Note that here again, in Washington State, the claimant’s own liability will be factored into the cause of the accident or injury.
4. Actual damages suffered. To win a personal injury case, the injured person must have suffered real harm or loss, called damages. This can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, or damage to property. If there is no real harm, there is no case. Minor injuries usually don’t justify a claim, but even moderate injuries that require treatment, cause missed work, or affect daily life can make a personal injury claim worth pursuing.
A personal injury attorney can determine whether your case has the four elements required for a successful personal injury claim. In addition, they will calculate the approximate value of your claim, ensure you receive appropriate medical care, and handle negotiations with insurance companies to protect your rights and pursue the full compensation you deserve.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Today!
An accident lawyer can help you recover a full and fair settlement for the injuries you sustained in an accident caused by the negligence of another with no up-front costs to you. We know the sneaky strategies used by insurance companies to get injured people to agree to settlements far below what they are worth. Our clients typically end up with a settlement or jury award that is five to ten times larger than they could have negotiated on their own. We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County and Snohomish County who were injured in Washington State since 1979. Contact the experienced and hard-working personal injury lawyers at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Mount Vernon, WA today for a FREE consultation!
