Negligence is the failure of a person or company to use reasonable care towards someone (or something), resulting in injury or damage. In the legal world, you are entitled to compensation if you suffer injuries or damages because of someone’s negligence. However, the law is very specific as to proving negligence. We will now explain the four (4) elements/requirements of negligence through easy-to-understand examples in addition to two (2) additional steps to help secure compensation in your negligence claim:
#1: Duty:
A person who drives a car has a duty to operate their vehicle within a reasonable standard of care. This also means avoiding acts or omissions that could cause others harm. More specifically, a driver has a duty to follow the speed limit, not drink/text & drive or fail to stop at a red light. In a lawsuit for negligence, you must first identity the duty of the at-fault party.
#2: Breach of Duty
If a driver fails to stop at a red light, they breached their duty – simple! To put it another way, what would a reasonable person driving a car do if they are approaching a red light? Well, you stop! The way to actually prove the driver failed to stop at a red light is by gathering evidence in various ways such as the at-fault parties’ own admission, the injured victim’s testimony, video footage, eyewitnesses or the way the impact occurred.
#3: Causation
The direct cause of the accident was a result of the driver failing to stop at a red light and T-boning another car who legally passed through a green light. In essence, one bad act (blowing the red light) caused another bad act (hitting another car).
#4: Damages
The injured driver suffered injuries to their body (headaches, neck and/or back pain) and damages to their car resulting from the T-bone collision. Now, the injured party has to receive medical treatment (and accumulate medical bills) and pay for the fixing or replacement of the car. These are real damages, and the law allows the injured party to be made whole for damages suffered from the accident.
#5: Statute of Limitations
In Florida you have four (4) years from the time of the accident to file a lawsuit for negligence. Failure to do so will result in your inability to be compensated. So, even if you can prove negligence, if you do not do anything about it, then nothing will happen. Which leads us to the next part.
#6: Hire Black Rock Trial Lawyers
Do not go about the process alone. Although it is easy to explain negligence in a blog, it is difficult to do it on your own. Your insurance company and the at fault driver’s insurance company are not your friends. They are going to look out for their own interest and not yours. We are personal injury trial lawyers and will take cases before a jury of your peers. Insurance companies take us seriously and it helps us fight to obtain the maximum possible compensation for our clients.
Contact us for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your personal injury auto accident claim. It does not cost you anything to hire us. We are compensated only if we get compensation for you.
