Bus 370 Week 5 Assignment

Elements of Negligence

John Bowers

BUS670: Legal Environment

Anthony Patete

August 28, 2012

Introduction

In general, tort law covers civil wrongs such as physical or legal harm, defamation, and trespassing. Depending on the circumstances of the situation, there is many transgressions and may entitle an individual to bring a suit. For suits that are deemed valid, the individuals who filed the suit are often rewarded for damages and compensated for troubles such as paid and suffering. A negligent tort is a category of tort law that are caused by negligent behavior, including a person’s failure to practice due diligence. Negligence occurs when somebody does not exercise the amount of care that a reasonably careful person would use under the circumstances, or when somebody does something that a reasonably careful person would not do under the same circumstances, (Larson, 2003). Negligent torts usually arise out of personal injury lawsuits, such as automobile accidents or injuries sustained on another person’s premises. There are elements that constitutes a negligent tort, and it is critical for one to know and understand these elements should they ever find themselves in a situation.

Elements of Negligence

Proximate cause is an element of negligence that occurs when a person is injured, and the injury is the result or primary cause of negligent conduct. Plaintiffs who are claiming personal injury lawsuits need to prove that the harm they have suffered were caused by the defendant’s actions. The plaintiff must also be able to prove that both the actual and proximate cause of the injury resulted from the defendants negative actions. It is possible that a person can be found negligent for the actual cause, but not the proximate cause of the injury or damages suffered. Another element of negligence, duty of care, generally only extends to those individuals directly harmed and whose interaction with the conduct of the...