Negligence

The Elements of a Negligence Claim

There are four elements to a negligence claim that the plaintiff must prove to hold the defendant responsible for the plaintiff's damages. First, the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff. A duty of care is the standard of behavior a reasonable, prudent person would follow to prevent causing harm to others. The defendant owes a duty of care to anyone that could foreseeably be harmed by the defendant's actions. For example, if the defendant is driving a car, then the defendant owes a duty to all other drivers on the road to drive in a reasonable manner (e.g., not driving too fast, staying within a lane on the road, obeying all traffic signals). In other situations, the defendant may not owe a duty to the plaintiff. For example, in most jurisdictions in the United States, a defendant that discovers someone in a dangerous situation—that was not caused by the defendant's actions—does not owe a duty to that person to help them. Although there is a duty not to cause harm to others by your actions, there generally is not a duty to provide a benefit to someone else. Thus, a defendant that ignores the pleas for help from a drowning plaintiff would not be liable for negligence because the defendant did not owe a duty to that plaintiff. An exception to this general rule, however, is when the defendant has a duty based on a special relationship with the plaintiff (e.g., the drowning plaintiff is the defendant's infant child).

Second, once it is established that the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant breached that duty of care. The duty [Page 1493]of care is determined by considering what a reasonable person would do in that situation and can be very context specific. For example, although a reasonable person may drive her car at the maximum speed limit on a sunny day, that reasonable person would drive considerably slower on a day with low visibility due to fog. The reasonable person standard is an objective standard that applies to all people in that situation and does not depend on the defendant's actual, subjective beliefs. Professionals, however, typically have a higher standard than lay people. For example, a doctor performing a medical procedure must live up to the standards of a licensed doctor practicing in that area. If the defendant shows a reckless or willful disregard for the standard of care, then he or she may be said to be grossly negligent.

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