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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 ...
In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care to avoid careless acts that could foreseeably harm others, and lead to claim in negligence. It is the first element that must be established to proceed with an action in negligence.
Causation is typically a bigger issue in negligence cases than intentional torts. However, as mentioned previously, it is an element of any tort. The defendant's act must be an actual cause and a proximate cause of the result in a particular cause of action.
The harm element is 'the cornerstone of the law of delict, and our fundamental point of departure'. [10] Once the nature of the harm is identified, it is possible to identify the nature of the enquiry and the elements that need to be proven.
The first element of negligence is the legal duty of care. This concerns the relationship between the defendant and the claimant, which must be such that there is an obligation upon the defendant to take proper care to avoid causing injury to the plaintiff in all the circumstances of the case.
Comparative negligence – A partial defense that reduces the amount of damages a plaintiff can claim based upon the degree to which the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to the damages. Most jurisdictions have adopted this doctrine; those not adopting it are Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, And Washington D.C.
Negligence by the attorney, A loss or injury to the client caused by the negligence, and; Financial loss or injury to the client. To satisfy the third element, legal malpractice requires proof of what would have happened had the attorney not been negligent; that is, "but for" the attorney's negligence ("but for" causation). [3]
Gross negligence may thus be described as reflecting "the want of even slight or scant care", falling below the level of care that even a careless person would be expected to follow. [3] While some jurisdictions equate the culpability of gross negligence with that of recklessness, most differentiate it from simple negligence in its degree. [3]