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Here you can find my case study on Cooper v. Hobart 2001

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In any social area such as a workplace or school, one owes a duty of care towards those that they interact with, and is negligent if that duty is breached.

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This Youtube video provides a brief description of damages, a monetary fee which is applied to someone found guilty of negligence.

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Failing to feed your children is an example of a non-conduct form of criminal negligence and can result in criminal charges.

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This article provides a list of common breaches of duty which can result in a negligence lawsuit.

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Negligence is a term that means carelessness or a breach of an obligation. Negligence is used in general language to mean someone was unreasonably lax in fulfilling some obligation. If someone is negligent in the eyes of the law, he or she could face a civil lawsuit or even criminal charges.

Criminal Negligence

When a person breaches a legal obligation, or falls short of fulfilling an obligation, it is considered negligence. In some cases, a person is considered criminally negligent. For example:

A parent who leaves a two-year-old child alone in the house in order to go out to a bar and have a good time could face charges for criminal negligence.

A person who drives 40 miles over the speed limit in a really dangerous way and who causes a car accident and injures someone could be charged with criminal negligence.

A person who breaks texting-and-driving laws and who is typing a text message when he or she gets into a car accident and kills someone could be considered criminally negligent.

A nurse in a nursing home who forgets to feed a patient who needs help to eat, causing the patient to starve to death, could be considered criminally negligent.

A caregiver in a hospital who isn't paying attention and who gives someone a deadly dose of a medication could be considered criminally negligent.

A doctor who prescribes addictive drugs to a known drug addict because the doctor gets paid for his or her services could be considered criminally negligent.

Each state has its own criminal laws that define criminal negligence. Someone charged with criminal negligence could go to jail.

Civil Negligence

When a person is negligent or careless in a way that causes harm to someone else, the victim of the negligence can sue. This is called civil liability or civil negligence.

There are lots of examples of negligence that can lead to a civil lawsuit. For example:

Property owners who let steps to their house crumble and leave a railing unrepaired could be considered negligent if they invites friends over to their house and their friends trip on the railing and steps and hurt themselves.

A restaurant owner who mops the slippery floor and doesn't put up a "Wet Floor" sign could be considered negligent.

A store that knows things get really out-of-control on Black Friday and who hosts a big sales event, encouraging a mob scene with no security, could be considered negligent.

A doctor who operates on the wrong patient or on the wrong body part because he or she misreads the chart could be considered negligent.

A company that releases a dangerous drug without fully testing the medication and identifying all of the side effects can be considered negligent.

A driver who runs a stop sign and who drives well over the legal speed limit can be considered negligent.

A person who owns a dog that he knows is dangerous and who takes the dog to the park where the dog bites a small child could be considered negligent.

An employer who fails to follow OSHA guidelines and other workplace safety rules can be considered negligent (although not necessarily subject to a lawsuit because of workers' compensation rules).

A lawyer who doesn't really know how to prosecute a case but who takes the case anyway and doesn't adequately represent the client can be considered to be liable for professional negligence.

In each of these situations, a plaintiff could file a lawsuit and obtain compensation if he or she can prove the negligence was the direct cause of some type of harm they endured.

Examples of Negligence

By YourDictionary

Negligence is a term that means carelessness or a breach of an obligation. Negligence is used in general language to mean someone was unreasonably lax in fulfilling some obligation. If someone is negligent in the eyes of the law, he or she could face a civil lawsuit or even criminal charges.

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Negligence is a term that means carelessness or a breach of an obligation. Negligence is used in general language to mean someone was unreasonably lax in fulfilling some obligation. If someone is negligent in the eyes of the law, he or she could face a civil lawsuit or even criminal charges.

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This article gives a deeper overview of the types of damages (fees/punishments) associated with negligence and how they are calculated.

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Damages for negligence constitutes court-ordered compensation for personal injury, property damage, and associated expenses caused by the negligence.3 min read
Damages for negligence constitutes court-ordered compensation for personal injury, property damage, and associated expenses caused by the negligence of another person.

What Is Negligence?

When a person acts carelessly and another person, or his or her property, is injured or damaged by the court, this is legally considered negligence. As a result, the person who was negligent will be legally required to compensate the injured party for damages. This concept usually arises in cases involving car accidents and other types of personal injury.

Four elements must be proven by the plaintiff for negligence to be established:

The circumstances create a legal duty between the defendant and the plaintiff. Sometimes, this is created by the nature of the relationship, such as doctor/patient. Other times, it hinges on the expected conduct of a person in public, such as someone driving an automobile.

This duty was breached when the defendant acted or did not act in a specific way. The court considers whether a "reasonably prudent person" would take the same actions as the defendant; if not, he or she was likely negligent.

The action or failure to act on the part of the defendant caused the injury or damage in question. For example, if you were texting and driving and hit a parked car, you would be found negligent. If nothing happened despite these irresponsible actions, legal negligence does not exist. In addition, if the defendant may have reasonably expected his or her actions to potentially cause an injury, this could constitute causation. Causation is not likely when an unexpected natural occurrence such as weather played a role in the injury.

Injury or harm resulted.

Types of Damages

Nominal damages are awarded when a plaintiff was not injured but was legally wronged. This situation is rare because negligence cases usually require proof of injury.

Compensatory damages are paid for actual injuries suffered, designed to return the plaintiff to the same situation he or she was in before the negligence in question occurred. Sometimes compensatory damages are categorized by intangible and tangible losses.

Tangible losses are those that are simply calculated. For example, tangible damages for personal injury include all medical expenses associated with the injury (including those projected for the future) as well as lost wages both current and projected. Property damage is calculated either by the difference of the property's market value before and after the incident in question, or by the actual value of the property. The category also covers the loss of use of the property while it is being repaired or replaced (the cost of a rental car, for example).

Intangible losses are those without a specific cost attached, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, and other mental health-related effects that damage the plaintiff's quality of life. The jury is typically responsible for establishing the value of intangible losses as guidelines for these calculations do not exist.

Loss of consortium compensates the spouse of an injured person for the loss of companionship and services they suffered because of the injury. This is based on the jury's observations and not calculated based on the value of hiring a babysitter, house cleaner, or lawn mower.

Punitive damages are awarded if the defendant's actions are proved to be reckless, wanton, or purposeful, meaning the person acted in complete disregard of others' safety. They are not designed to compensate the plaintiff but to discourage others from committing these types of acts. The amount is dictated by the legal doctrine from which the claim arose. Some states use a guideline for punitive damages, such as three times the actual recovery amount. In other states, the jury is left to decide based on factors such as culpability level, the severity of harm, the extent to which the plaintiff shared responsibility, past conduct by the defendant, whether he or she profited from the conduct in question, and punitive damages awarded in similar cases.

Calculating Damages

In addition to actual costs, factors the jury may account for when calculating damages can include permanent injury, disfigurement, shortened life expectancy, psychological trauma, depression, sexual dysfunction, anxiety and apprehension, and loss of enjoyment of life.

If you need help with damages for negligence, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

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Damages for Negligence: Everything You Need To Know

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Damages for negligence constitutes court-ordered compensation for personal injury, property damage, and associated expenses caused by the negligence.3 min read Damages for negligence constitutes court-ordered compensation for personal injury, property damage, and associated expenses caused by the negligence of another person.

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An illustration of the elements of negligence

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This article describes the elements required to be proven/discussed in a case of negligence

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This Youtube video explains duty of care and in what situations one holds a duty of care towards those they interact with.

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Duty of Care in Negligence Actions - Explained

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This Youtube video provides a brief description of negligence and provides an example to illustrate a simple case of negligence.