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Everything You Need to Know About General Negligence: A Lawyer’s Take in New York, NY

Hand being held in air showing wrist injury with bandageGeneral negligence refers to a circumstance in which another party’s actions can be classified as improper care, causing harm to another party. The term indicates that an individual’s recklessness resulted in injuries, necessitating the affected party to sue for compensation. Below are more details on what general negligence constitutes.

How to Establish a General Negligence Case

While there is no specific technique to determine whether or not an action resulted from general neglect, the most effective way is to ask if a rational person would have acted similarly under the circumstances. If a prudent individual would not have taken the same course of action, it is right to assume that the consequences are a result of general negligence.

Proving a Case of General Negligence

After establishing that the damage resulted from disregard, one may sue the party responsible for financial compensation. However, the plaintiff must prove all the elements of negligence in a court of law. These elements include the following:

Duty

The conclusion of any negligence case hinges on whether the defendant had a duty to act in a particular manner or owed a specific responsibility to the plaintiff. Additionally, the law must recognize the nature of the relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant, then acknowledge the blame in reference.

Breach of Duty

After proving that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty, the injured party must prove that indeed the accused party failed to fulfill their responsibility, leading to harm.

Proximate Cause/Causation

Causation relates to the extent of a defendant’s obligation in a negligence case. Therefore, the court can only hold an individual responsible for damages or injuries if the defendant could have foreseen and prevented the accident through their actions. So, if the harm caused lies outside the scope of all predictable dangers, the plaintiff cannot verify that there was any proximate cause.

Damages

The plaintiff in a negligence case should show the presence of a legally recognized injury, be it physical damage to property or an individual. If there was any medical attention provided to the injured party, he or she must present the evidence to a court of law, often in the form of medical reports.

Proving all elements of general negligence can be a hard task, and anyone suing for compensation should consider hiring a resourceful lawyer. At Leav & Steinberg LLP, we provide legal representation in a wide range of practice areas, including personal injury and premises liability. Additionally, our attorneys will travel throughout New York to meet our clients. Contact us today to request your free consultation.