Negligence is a legal concept described as the “failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonable person would have under similar circumstances, resulting in harm or injury to another.” Negligence also involves liability. The person who committed the negligent acts needs to compensate the person who was injured or had their property damaged. That concept of negligence and accountability is the core of any
personal injury claim. When filing the claim, you and your attorney need to establish the four elements of negligence, which are:
- Duty of Care
- Breach of duty of care
- Causation
- Damages
The breach of duty of care is where the concept of negligence comes into play. It is essential to determine which type of negligence was involved in your claim because that can impact what your final settlement might be.
What Are the Different Types of Negligence?
The concept of negligence is seemingly straightforward. However, it can also be classified into the following types of negligence:
Ordinary Negligence
Ordinary negligence is the most common type of negligence. This happens when someone engages in an unintentional act that leads to harm. For example, if a driver fails to check their blind spot when changing lanes and sideswipes into another vehicle, it would be considered a
car accident caused by ordinary negligence.
Gross Negligence
On the negligence scale, gross negligence is considered the most severe and involves a reckless disregard for the safety of others. A clear example would be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Contributory Negligence
Contributory negligence refers to both parties being involved in an accident. In other words, both parties were negligent. Some states adopt a contributory negligence approach for accidents, meaning if you were found to be even partially at fault, you would not be able to recover any damages from the other driver.
Comparative Negligence
Comparative negligence allows for liability to be assigned to both parties. Fortunately, Montana is a comparative negligence state. That means if you were partially at fault for the accident, you can still recover damages, but they will be reduced by the percentage of your fault. For instance, if you were 20% at fault, you would only get 80% of the final settlement amount.
Professional Negligence
Professional negligence refers to a breach of duty of care by a professional. This would apply to a
medical malpractice claim you might make against a doctor who might make one of the following errors:
- Diagnostic errors
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Birth injuries
- Failure to treat
- Anesthesia errors
- Emergency room errors
- Radiological errors
- Infection control errors
- Failure to obtain informed consent
Vicarious Negligence
When vicarious negligence is applied to a claim, it means that someone is being held responsible for the actions of another. For instance, an employer could be held accountable for the actions of their employee. That’s a common occurrence in
truck accidents when a trucking company fails to conduct thorough background checks on drivers or neglects to test them for drugs.
How an Attorney Helps Assign Negligence
When you get involved in any type of personal injury accident caused by another person’s negligence, you have to clearly establish liability. In other words, who was at fault? Our experienced attorneys at Western Justice Associates, PLLC, have helped clients with their personal injury claims resulting from various types of negligence. Our goal is to conduct a thorough investigation to clearly establish who was responsible for causing the injury. We’ll become a strong advocate for our client and take over all communications with the insurance carrier. We will fight to get the maximum settlement amount. When there is resistance, we might recommend filing a civil complaint. Our courtroom experience has helped us prevail in many cases, resulting in
multi-million-dollar awards. If someone’s negligence has injured you, we want to hear from you. Call for a free consultation today.
