General Negligence refers to a situation in which one party’s actions constitute improper care or conduct that causes harm to another party. The definition indicates that one party’s recklessness resulted in personal injury to the other party, and the affected individual is entitled to compensation for their injuries, damages, and suffering.
No one legal technique determines whether or not a person’s action resulted in general neglect. The most effective way to determine whether negligence played a role in your personal injury case is to ask if a “rational person” would have acted similarly under the same circumstances. If a reasonable person would not have performed the action in question or behaved in a similar manner, one may assume that general negligence played a role in the injury.
Ali Awad, the “CEO Lawyer,” understands the most effective approach to pursuing the compensation you need during these challenging times in your life. Filing an injury claim is not something any of us want to go through, but when it happens, you want someone savvy and focused on the numbers on your side. Call the Georgia personal injury attorneys at CEO lawyer at (470) 323-8779 for a no-obligation consultation of your case.
Establishing a General Negligence Case
Four elements of negligence must be proven to establish negligence and secure a settlement for injuries or damages related to the accident:
- Duty: To prove that negligence was a factor in your personal injury case, it must be demonstrated that the injured party was owed a duty by the at-fault party. Duty arises when the law establishes that the defendant owed the plaintiff a certain standard of care or was required to act in a certain manner.
For example, if a person injured themselves tripping over equipment on a public sidewalk, the judge would likely determine that the defendant in the case owed the person a certain degree of care. Your tools and equipment should not block a public walkway. However, if the same injury occurred on private property and it was determined that the injured person was trespassing, the element of duty will likely not be established. - Breach of Duty: In a negligence case, your personal injury attorney must also prove that the defendant breached their duty of care to the injured party. The at-fault party breaches duty by failing to exercise a reasonable amount of care or failing to take the proper security precautions.
- Causation: The third element that must be proven in a negligence case is causation. In order to demonstrate causation, the plaintiff must prove that the negligent party’s actions caused their injuries.
- Damages: There is no case without damages. If the three prior elements of negligence above are proven true, the injured party must prove that legally recognized harm has occurred.
Four Types of Negligence
When a duty of care is breached, negligence occurs. If an accident results from this negligence, the injured party may be able to sue for compensation. There are four types of negligence:
- Gross Negligence is the most severe form of negligence and occurs when one party acts in a reckless manner, and a reasonable person would not behave in the same manner.
- Contributory negligence refers to when an accident occurs, but the negligent party isn’t solely and completely at fault. For example, perhaps a driver acted negligently by using their phone while driving and, due to inattention, struck a person who made an illegal turn. Contributory negligence law does not apply in Georgia. Contributory negligence is only recognized in a handful of U.S. states.
- Comparative negligence occurs when both parties are partially at fault for an injury and fault is allocated for the accident. So, a restaurant owner might be 70% at fault in a slip-and-fall accident in which a “Wet Floor” sign was present, and the injured party may share 30% of the blame for not exercising caution when instructed.
- Vicarious negligence refers to negligence cases in which a person is indirectly responsible for the injury caused, such as in a dog bite case.
Common Negligence Cases
The law related to negligence generally requires people to conduct themselves in a way that conforms to reasonable standards of conduct. There are certain types of personal injury cases in which negligence plays a determinate role. They are:
- Medical Malpractice: We put our faith in doctors and nurses to exercise extreme care and maintain vigilance for our wellbeing. However, mistakes are made, and sometimes a medical professional’s actions, or lack of actions, amounts to medical malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare worker provides a treatment that does not rise to the accepted level of care established by the medical community and causes injury to the patient. Medical negligence occurs when a negligent act causes injury or death to the patient. If you or a loved one can demonstrate negligence on the part of a medical professional that led to injury or death, you may be entitled to compensation for damages and suffering.
- Premises Liability: Premises liability refers to the responsibility of business and property owners to maintain safe establishments and adequate security for visitors to their premises. Georgia law requires business owners to maintain certain standards and exercise a certain degree of care in order to keep their property safe. Accidents that fall under the umbrella of premises liability can vary from slip-and-fall accidents to negligent or inadequate safety standards or protocols.
In order to demonstrate negligence in a premises liability case, you must be able to establish the relationship between the parties and the cause of the injury. The injured party must fall under the category of “invitee” or “licensee.”
An “invitee” refers to a person who was specifically welcomed onto the premises, such as a customer, guest, employee, contractor, or other individuals who can prove they were asked to be on the property at the time of the incident.
A “licensee” refers to individuals that may not have been expressly invited to the premises but are not trespassing on the premises. In Georgia, a licensee is defined as “a person who is neither a customer, a servant, nor a trespasser, who does not stand in any contractual relation with the landowner, and who is permitted to go on the premises merely for their interests, convenience or gratification.”
- Wrongful Death: Wrongful death claims can be filed when a person is killed due to the negligent action of another. Wrongful death is a broad category that includes motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, occupational hazards, premises accidents, and even criminal acts, such as murder. Wrongful death suits can be brought by the victim’s surviving spouse or children in order to seek justice and recover compensation for medical expenses, funeral and burial costs, as well as mental anguish. If there is no surviving spouse or child, the victim’s parents or estate may file for a wrongful death suit.
- Elder Abuse: We leave our loved ones in the care of nursing homes and assisted living centers to protect them, but sometimes our trust can be misplaced, and our loved ones can suffer injury, abuse, or even death due to negligent actions of a caregiver. Nursing home abuse claims can be filed when the plaintiff can demonstrate that a duty of care was breached, or in other words, negligence occurred. Negligence claims are usually filed due to inadequate or undertrained staff, medication errors, third-party injuries, such as when a resident is injured by another resident, or breach of statutory rights. Some signs of elder abuse include:
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- Malnutrition or dehydration
- Injuries that produce bruises, bleeding, or broken bone
- Unexplained infections or disease
- Bedsores
- Emotional withdrawal
- Silence around caretakers
What Type of Damages Can I Pursue in Negligence Cases?
Two types of damages can be pursued in a negligence case: economic damages and non-economic damages. If you are injured due to the negligence of another party, you may be entitled to a settlement offer that will compensate you for:
- Current and future medical expenses related to the treatment of your injury
- Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
The CEO Lawyer Can Answer Your Questions and Will Fight for your Settlement
Ali Awad, also known as the CEO Lawyer, has experience settling negligence cases in Atlanta, GA. The injury and accident attorneys at Ali Awad Law have over twenty years of combined experience fighting for maximum compensation for their clients. The CEO Lawyer is ready to answer your questions at no cost to you unless we win your case.
Call the CEO Lawyer at (470) 323-8779 or reach out to us online for a no-obligation consultation of your case.
