In Personal Injury Law, “Negligence” is a term which describes when a party acts in a careless manner that results in property damage or a personal injury, or fails to exercise reasonable care which results in a personal injury.
Georgia is a modified comparative negligence state. Georgia’s contributory negligence law is in Georgia Code Section 51-12-33. It states that injured parties are eligible for compensation if they are 49% or less responsible for damages claimed.
Some of the most common lawsuits under negligence include;
- Auto accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Premises liability
- Truck accidents
- Medical malpractice cases
Elements Of Negligence
For a plaintiff to prove negligence they must be able to prove the following four elements;
- Legal Duty: The plaintiff must prove that the defendant had a legal duty to them. For example, a bus driver has a legal duty to keep passengers safe. A truck driver has a duty to operate their vehicle in a manner which does not harm others.
- Breach of duty: A breach occurs when the defendant’s conduct falls below that of the reasonably prudent person.
- Causation: This is one of the easiest elements to explain but also the hardest to prove. The plaintiff must prove that by breaching their legal duty, the defendant caused them damages or harm. Also, the damages or harm from the said breach of duty should have been reasonably foreseeable. This means that a reasonably careful person in a similar situation would have foreseen that the injuries or damages would happen to someone in the plaintiff’s shoes.
- Injury or damages: Most of the time, plaintiffs don’t file a negligence lawsuit unless there is actual damage or injury. However, they prove the nature plus extent of the damages or injuries. Injury and damages could either be emotional or physical. Most damages include medical and hospital expenses, loss of income, low wages, pain, or trauma from the incident. While sometimes the injuries and damages could be clear, there might be disputes around their nature and extent.
Common Defenses to Negligence:
Insurance companies and potentially liable parties often try to defend themselves from claims of negligence by one of the following ways:
- Claiming there was no Duty of Care owed.
- Claiming that you were at fault.
- Claiming that you assumed the risk of injury.