The legal term “Negligence” is also known as Carelessness. It is the absence of ordinary care that a reasonable person would use in undertaking his or her activities. Negligent conduct may consist either of an act or a failure to act when there is a duty to do so. In other words, “Negligence” is the failure to do something that a reasonably careful person would have done or doing something that a reasonable and careful person would not have done in light of all the surroundings circumstances.
Ordinary care is the care a reasonably careful person would use under a particular factual situation. Everyone has a duty to use ordinary care not only for his or her own safety and the protection of his or her property, but also to avoid injury to others. What constitutes ordinary care varies according to the particular circumstances and conditions existing then and there. The amount of care required by the law must be in keeping with the degree of danger involved. For more information on this, please contact us.
We recently published a video and blog post addressing an area of carelessness as related to Slip and Fall cases. You can view it here.
Careless Acts
There are many other types of negligent cases as well, and many aspects to them. Failing to respond to previous complaints, accidental shootings stemming from a legal gun handled incorrectly, unsafe work practices, a treacherous fence around a day care facility – all these examples can be considered to fall into this category.
Every legal case is unique. Just because one was settled successfully does not automatically mean that another with similarities will turn out with an identical outcome. That is why a diligent evaluation is required for all new clients. We are experienced to be able to give a solid overview and the framework for the parameters of an anticipated outcome of your given situation. We can then advise on how to proceed, and if we decide to move forward with the case, we will communicate to you everything you need to know regarding the time frame of events and the expected process.