Negligence

Negligence

Imagine a driver who is texting while driving and fails to notice a pedestrian crossing the road. The driver hits the pedestrian, causing injury. In this situation, the law may regard the driver as negligent because the driver failed to take reasonable care and that failure caused harm. 

Negligence is a part of tort law. In simple terms, it occurs when someone fails to exercise the level of care that the specific circumstances require and, as a result, causes harm to another person. 

However, not every accident amounts to negligence. A person is not automatically legally responsible just because someone was injured. The law considers whether the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care, breached that duty by falling below the required standard of care, and caused damage that the law recognises. 

Negligence claims are usually brought to obtain damages, meaning monetary compensation.