When you hear the term negligence relating to the law, it can apply to civil or criminal cases. When there is conduct that fails to meet the standards legally expected of a reasonable person this can be called negligent. If the negligent actions of someone causes harm to another, they have the right to sue in a court of law to recover damages.

The legal concept of negligence is used to get compensation for victims of accident or injury. It comes up in product liability cases all the way to auto accidents. You must have suffered damages either to property, reputation, body or mind to recoup financial cost for such losses. In order to prove negligence resulting in harm the claimant must be able to prove that the defendant had a responsibility in the situation called, “duty of care.” This basically means you have to prove that the person you are suing did not act in the way you would expect a reasonable person to act. For example, medical malpractice attorneys must prove that a healthcare professional or hospital was negligent leading to injury by not following the standard accepted level of care legally required. When you visit a doctor, they are legally obliged to provide you with standard care. If you are mis-diagnosed because a physician does not follow up with tests or fully explore that which another physician would, there may be a level of negligence. If this mis-diagnosis leads to your condition worsening, you may have a claim. The law can get murky because your case relies on a jury of your peers to decide what is reasonable. You must establish that the defendant breached their duty to you. This can mean many different things in different cases. Obviously you as the claimant or the average citizen have a duty to avoid harm that is obvious. If you attend a hockey game and you get hit by a hockey puck you may still have a case but if the stadium provides reasonable safety procedures were in place their level of responsibility may be reduced. You also have to be able to prove that the injury or harm you sustained was caused by the particular act or negligent omission.

The basic tenet of negligence pertaining to civil law is that everyone has a duty to avoid harming another person or their property. The level to which you are responsible for the harm to another person is the level to which you must financially compensate them.

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