General Negligence and its Elements

There exists General Negligence when one person caused damage to another person due to willful disregard to or lack of the necessary precautions that an ordinary man is expected to observe.

When a person suffered damages on account of another person's negligence and recklessness, he can procure the services of a General Negligence Lawyer.

Without the help of a skilled counsel, one can hardly understand and determine the main points in finding out whether he has a valid case against the respondent or not. The plaintiff must take note that absence of only one of the four main elements of negligence bars him from pursuing his case.

Discussed thoroughly in this article are the Four Main Elements of General Negligence. They are the following:

• Duty to act with precaution - every individual is required by law to act with the necessary care and precaution in everything he does. This duty allows people to live and coexist harmoniously.

Even if there is no law mandating people to carry out their actions carefully, morality and ethics dictate that they do what the society thinks is right. Nobody wants to live in a chaotic and disorganized world.

• Violation of Duty - there is a violation of duty when a person breached or disregarded the first element or the duty to act with care and caution. As a result of his carelessness, another person is damaged or injured.

How do you determine whether there is indeed negligence? The test to determine whether negligence exists or not on the part of the respondent is to ask: What would an ordinary and prudent man do if given the same situation? If the answer would be to do the same action as the respondent did, then the latter did not commit any negligence. Otherwise, he is liable.

• Causation - the third element requires that there be a causal connection between the act committed by the defendant and the damage being suffered by the victim.

First, the action of the respondent must be the actual and proximate cause of the injury sustained by the complainant. If the negligent act did not cause the injury, then the former is not liable. And last, the victim must sustain actual damage or suffer losses because of the negligence of the perpetrator. Without such damage or loss, the case for negligence will not prosper.

• Damages - a case for negligence is useless if the complainant doest not ask the court for any relief. As discussed above, the victim must have suffered actual damages due to the negligent actions of the respondent otherwise, the case will not be entertained. The main relief by the complainant in a negligence case is to demand for damages actually sustained by him or actual damages; and other kinds of relief prayed for from the court such as moral damages, exemplary damages, attorney's fees and others.

If you or someone you know believed that you have been damaged or suffered losses due to the negligent act of another, you should consult a general negligence lawyer.

To help you with issues regarding general negligence, you can avail of the legal services of our expert Los Angeles general negligence attorneys. Get to know them by logging on to our official website and have your case evaluated.