Negligence cases are quite common in personal injury law. Negligence is defined as a failure to uphold proper care in a situation, and this can be accomplished through both action and inaction. For example, you could be found guilty of negligence through your actions if you were texting and driving and struck a pedestrian, or you could be found guilty through inaction by failing to remove ice from your sidewalk in a timely manner, which resulted in someone slipping and falling.
So while you get the general idea of a negligence case, there are also specific factors that must exist in order for you to have a valid negligence claim against another party. We take a closer look at those factors in today’s blog.
What To Prove In A Negligence Case
Under Minnesota law, there are five specific elements that must be present in order for you to have a valid personal injury claim against another party for negligence. Those five elements are:
Duty of Care – The other party must have owed the injured party a duty of care. Even if it’s not explicitly laid out, a duty can exist. For example, a homeowner owes a duty of care to anyone they invite onto their property, just like a business owes a duty of care to customers that enter their store.
Breach of Duty – You must be able to prove that the other party failed to uphold this duty. In other words, you suffered an injury while on their property.
Cause In Fact – This means that had the other party not failed to uphold their duty, you would not have been injured. For example, in the ice removal scenario, you must show that had the homeowner removed the ice, you would not have slipped and been injured. It may seem a little difficult to prove, but you are just showcasing that their action or inaction prevented you from remaining uninjured.
Proximate Cause – You must show that the other party’s failure caused your injuries, not something else. For example, if you were looking down at your phone and stepped on a patch of ice, you may be found partly at fault for your injuries because your actions also contributed to your injuries. You need to show that their action or inaction was directly tied to your injury.
Damages – Finally, you must show that you have suffered an actual loss as a result of your injuries. In most cases, this comes in the form of medical expenses or lost wages, but a number of different factors can be considered damages. If the only thing injured was your ego and you didn’t suffer a quantifiable loss as a result of the accident, you may have a tough time collecting compensation.
It may sound a bit complex, especially if you aren’t familiar with the personal injury compensation system, but that’s where we come in. The team at Hey Workers can develop a strong case that clearly showcases all five of the above elements and helps you secure the large award that you rightly deserve. To learn more about how we work hard to prove these factors in negligence cases, or to see if you have a different type of valid injury claim, give our team a call today to set up a free consultation at (844) 439-9675.
