General Negligence Cases 101

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidents or unintentional injuries account for 27.7 million emergency department visits and the 5th leading cause of death in the United States. Negligence is often the main cause of these accidents and unintentional injuries.

Los Angeles, California is one of the most populous cities in the world. With 4,094,764 people all living, working, and walking around LA, the potential for accidents is particularly high. Los Angeles is in fact, a hot spot for many general negligence cases most of which involve personal injury lawsuits.

General negligence can be broad enough to give you an idea of what it is but not enough for you to actually understand how it may be applied in your case. Here is a brief overview of what general negligence is and the type of cases under it.

• Negligence is a legal concept that is usually applied to civil or tort law. A case based on general negligence can entitle the complainant to recover monetary compensation (damages) for any injury or loss they have suffered due to the liable party’s negligence.
• Negligence is defined as any conduct of a person which falls short of what a reasonable person would do to protect another from foreseeable risks of harm. Negligence is not just carelessness but the lack of diligence of the person or the failure to use ordinary care through an act or omission.
• To prove general negligence case, the complainant must show a preponderance of evidence which may be proved by the following elements:
• The liable party owed a duty of care or diligence to the victim or to the general public.
• There was a breach or violation of the duty owed by the defendant.
• The breach of such duty resulted to injury or loss to the victim.
• The injury could have been avoided or reasonably foreseen if the defendant exercised greater diligence or care.
• It is important to determine proximate cause in any general negligence case. Proximate cause is the direct result of the defendant’s negligent acts or omissions which resulted to injury or loss suffered by the complainant.
• Often, in negligence cases, the main consideration is to recover damages. As previously mentioned, it is the monetary amount paid to the victim in view of the harm done. This follows the principle of restitution in intergrum which means, restoration to the original condition. Damages are compensatory in nature.

If you live in Los Angeles and you were involved in any car accident, slip and fall accident, medical malpractice, product liability, and there was no fault or negligence on your part, you should consider filing a claim based on general negligence.