An injury may chart a different course for your life. One that happens due to someone else’s irresponsible action may result in significant damage to your body.
Personal injury law revolves around the concept of negligence. While a person may not set out to hurt you, the actions or inactions that led to the incident may still hold them responsible. Understanding negligence may help you determine whether your accident qualifies.
The act was reckless
Some accidents happen due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control. For example, the weather may make driving more dangerous and lead to an accident. However, if a person causes an accident by speeding in poor road conditions, his or her actions are reckless. Anyone who deviates from the law or a reasonable course of action is negligent.
The result caused an injury
Another prong of the negligence test is showing a direct correlation between the responsible party’s behavior and the incident that caused your injury. In the previous example of speeding in bad weather, you need to prove that the reckless behavior of the other driver was the direct cause of the accident. While weather factors into the equation, excessive speed was the negligent act that led to your injury.
The accident was avoidable
When a court looks at negligence, it determines whether or not the incident was avoidable. If the responsible party exercised caution or a reasonable standard of care, the accident would not have occurred, and thus, neither would your injury. Had the driver slowed to compensate for the poor road conditions, it is reasonable to believe the crash would not have occurred.
Negligence is not always easy to prove. However, if you can show that the responsible party did not exercise caution or reason and led to the crash, you may come out the victor in a personal injury case.