Negligence is when a person acts more carelessly or recklessly than a reasonable person would under the same circumstances. Negligence does not need to be action per se. It can also be someone’s failure to act.
Accidents happen because of someone’s carelessness. A person suffers injuries because of accidents. Had the negligent person acted reasonably, the accident would never have happened, and nobody would have sustained injuries.
How to establish negligence in a personal injury case
To prove negligence in a personal injury case, the negligent party must have owed the personal injury victim a duty of care. The negligent party should have breached that duty, which then caused harm and damages to the victim. All these elements must exist. The degree of care in exercising their duty is not necessarily that which would have prevented injury but rather that which is reasonable. Here are examples of when a negligent person breaches their duty of care to others:
- A distracted or drunk driver breaches their duty to the other people on the road by driving recklessly
- An employer who fails to maintain a safe working environment breaches their duty to their employees
- A property owner who does not repair spills or damaged flooring around their premises breaches their duty to their guests and visitors
- A lessor who fails to repair a broken staircase breaches their duty to their tenants
- A product manufacturer who sells defective products intentionally or without proper testing breaches their duty to their consumers
Negligence is the common denominator in car accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, medical errors, workplace accidents and other mishaps. Once an individual’s negligence gets in the way of their legal responsibility not to cause an accident or injury, consequently instigating the accident, you have a personal injury claim.
Recovering damages due to someone’s negligence
Negligence establishes fault. In Oklahoma, a person who suffers detriment from the wrongful act or omission of another can recover money in the form of damages from the negligent party. However, the state also follows the comparative negligence principle. The court will consider each party’s level of liability.
The outcome of a personal injury claim will depend on several factors that can be tough to connect. You will need to review all the elements of your case even when the evidence seems substantially favorable to you. That way, you can try to recover all the compensation you need to fully recover from your injury.