Negligence is the basis for most personal injury claims and generally occurs when someone’s careless behavior causes an accident or injury.
To successfully prove negligence in a personal injury case, you must show that the other party owed you a duty of care, breached that duty through their actions or inaction, and directly caused your injuries.
You must also prove that you suffered damages as a result, such as medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering.
If you cannot establish each of these four elements, you may not be able to recover compensation for your injuries.
The Legal Elements of Negligence
Negligence is usually associated with careless actions or conduct, but proving negligence requires showing much more than that. In order to win your personal injury claim, you will need to prove these four elements:
Duty of Care
The first step toward proving negligence is showing that the defendant owed you a duty of care. This means that they had a legal duty to uphold a certain standard of conduct or behavior. A duty of care is often established through law or custom.
For instance, when you drive a car, you have a duty of care to operate your vehicle in a safe manner that avoids car accidents. Additionally, property owners have a duty to keep their property free of dangerous conditions in order to keep visitors safe. The “reasonable person” standard is often used to establish the required duty of care. This means that an individual must act in the way in which a reasonable person would act under similar circumstances.
Breach of Duty
A breach of duty occurs when someone fails to uphold the accepted standard of care. This means that the defendant acted outside of the manner in which a reasonable person would have acted. For example, imagine that you are driving your car above the posted speed limit while also texting on your cell phone. In that case, you have breached the duty you have to operate your car in a safe manner.
Keep in mind that the behavior above would be considered a breach of duty, but you might not be considered legally negligent if your behavior did not cause an accident. Remember that in order to find negligence, all four legal elements must be proven.
Causation
Next, you must be able to link the defendant’s behavior to your injuries. This means that you must be able to show that your injuries were both the direct and foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s conduct.
This requires proving:
- Direct cause
- Proximate cause
Direct cause, or cause in fact, means that your injuries were the direct result of the defendant’s behavior. Put another way, you would not have been injured “but for” the defendant’s actions or inaction. Proximate cause is a little more complex. In order to prove proximate cause, you must be able to show that your injuries were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the behavior that took place.
Damages
In order to get compensation after an accident, you must be able to prove that you suffered actual damages. In Arizona, injury victims can recover both economic and non-economic damages. This means that you can recover compensation for your financial losses as well as your physical and emotional pain.
Some common examples of damages available in negligence claims are:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost benefits
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of consortium
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Loss of enjoyment of life
If you can successfully prove all four elements of negligence, you have a good chance of being successful with your claim. Putting an accurate value on all your damages can sometimes be challenging, and this is where you might need help from an experienced lawyer.
Types of Evidence Used to Prove Negligence
Negligence claims must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. This means that you must have more evidence on your side than the opposing party has. There are many types of evidence that might be used to prove the elements of negligence in a personal injury case.
Some common types of evidence used in these claims include:
- Your own testimony
- Witness statements or testimony
- Expert witnesses, such as doctors, financial experts, or crash reconstructionists
- Photos
- Video footage
- Text messages, emails, or call logs
- Medical records
The specific evidence that may be allowed in your case will be governed by the Arizona Rules of Evidence. The evidence you use must be relevant and have a direct correlation to your case. A lawyer can help you gather evidence and determine the best evidence to use in order to prove your case.
Contact an Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer at AJ Law, PLC for a Free Consultation
If you have been hurt in an accident, you will likely need to prove the other party’s negligence in order to recover compensation for your injuries. Doing this without the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer can be challenging. Thankfully, the team at AJ Law, PLC has the knowledge and experience you need on your side to handle even the most complex injury claims.
We have recovered more than $50 million in compensation for our clients, and we are ready to help you maximize your financial recovery. Contact us today at (602) 671-2363 to schedule a free consultation with an Arizona personal injury lawyer who is ready to help you prove negligence and get the justice you deserve.
