Negligence involves acting in a way that causes unreasonable harm to others. In other words, someone has acted negligently if they deviate from the expected behavior of a reasonable person.
The idea of a reasonable person standard distinguishes negligence from something like assault and battery, which doesn’t involve negligence but involves a deliberate act of a person to injure another.
To determine if someone has acted negligently, the law considers several factors.
- The person’s knowledge, experience, and perception
- The activity that person was engaged in at the time of the alleged negligence
- The person’s physical characteristics
- The circumstances surrounding the person’s actions
In some cases, the person who harmed you may not be guilty of negligence if they did not owe you the duty of reasonable care. It is important to keep in mind, however, that a person is under a duty of care if someone is on their property. For example, if someone has a pool in their yard, and has not taken the proper precautions to secure the area around that pool, the homeowner could be considered negligent if someone were to drown in their pool.
If you feel that you or a loved one has been injured by someone’s negligence, please fill out the form on this website for a free case evaluation by an attorney.