Negligence

Negligence (Latin: negligentia) is a failure to exercise appropriate care expected to be exercised in similar circumstances.

Within the scope of tort law, negligence pertains to harm caused by the violation of a duty of care through a negligent act or failure to act. The concept of negligence is linked to the obligation of individuals to exercise reasonable care in their actions and to consider foreseeable harm that their conduct might cause to other people or property. The elements of a negligence claim include the duty to act or refrain from action, breach of that duty, actual and proximate cause of harm, and damages. Someone who suffers loss caused by another's negligence may be able to sue for damages to compensate for their harm. Such loss may include physical injury, harm to property, psychiatric illness, or economic loss.

Elements of negligence claims

To successfully pursue a claim of negligence through a lawsuit, a plaintiff must establish the "elements" of negligence. In most jurisdictions there are four elements to a negligence action:

duty: the defendant has a duty to others, including the plaintiff, to exercise reasonable care,

breach: the defendant breaches that duty through an act or culpable omission,

damages: as a result of that act or omission, the plaintiff suffers an injury, and

causation: the injury to the plaintiff is a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant's act or omission.

Some jurisdictions narrow the definition down to three elements: duty, breach and proximately caused harm. Some jurisdictions recognize five elements, duty, breach, actual cause, proximate cause, and damages.