Negligence
Negligence means failing to exercise the care that a reasonably careful person would have used in the same situation, and causing harm as a result. It's the backbone of most personal injury cases.
The four elements
To prove negligence, an injured person generally has to show four things:
- Duty — the other person owed a legal duty of reasonable care
- Breach — they failed to meet that duty
- Causation — the breach actually caused the injury
- Damages — the injury resulted in real harm (medical bills, lost income, pain, etc.)
Plain-language example
A driver has a duty to drive at a reasonable speed for conditions. A driver who speeds through a red light breaches that duty. If speeding through the light causes a crash, that's causation. If the crash causes injury, that's damages. All four pieces have to be there.
Why it matters in a claim
Negligence is the legal hook for most personal injury claims. An insurer evaluating a claim is really asking: can the injured person prove all four elements? If any element is weak — the duty is contested, the causation is unclear, the damages are thin — the value of the claim drops.
Related concepts
Negligence per se applies when the other party violated a safety statute — like running a red light — and that violation is treated as evidence of breach. Gross negligence is a higher level of carelessness that can sometimes support punitive damages. Comparative fault reduces recovery when the injured person was also partly careless.
Key Takeaways
- 01Negligence has four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
- 02All four have to be proven — weakness in any one hurts the claim.
- 03Statute violations (like running a red) often make the breach easier to prove.
- 04Comparative fault reduces recovery when the injured person was also careless.
General information only. This page explains common concepts in plain language. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws vary by state and change over time. For any specific situation, consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.