Understanding Negligence in Personal Injury Suits
When an unintentional injury accident happens, a victim that would like to take legal action to recover financial compensation for their losses will have to show that the party they are filing a claim against was negligent. Demonstrating negligence is a critical part of an injury claim. However, there are certain elements of an injury accident where negligence existed that must be present for a claim to be successful. And in the state of Florida where the no-fault system is in place, the extent of one’s damages that are suffered will also be a factor as to if a claim against another party can be made at all.
Legal actions like personal injury claims can be complicated. Taking all of the right steps to get everything in order within the established statute of limitations can be a difficult task, especially if you are injured and are trying to recover. An attorney can be invaluable here as a legal professional that knows personal injury laws and how to build effective and strong claims which give victims the best chances of recovering the full amount of damages they are owed. In Florida, the Tampa personal injury attorneys at Fulgencio Law are experienced and aggressive with their legal representation and will fight on your behalf to secure optimal results.
How is Negligence Defined?
When one or more parties act in a way that is careless in a situation, that no one else in the same situation would reasonably behave, then this behavior would be considered negligence. Negligence can be for reckless actions that a party engages in or the failure to take action in other situations. This is because negligence can take one of two forms. These are
- Active: Specific behaviors that directly violate one’s duty of care to another party or parties. An example of active negligence would be driving drunk and causing an accident. In this scenario, the drunk driver had a duty of care to others on the road to drive safely and not put anyone in harm’s way. By being irresponsible and driving drunk, the driver violated that duty and caused a crash. The disregard for others the drunk driver exhibited is active negligence.
- Passive: When others are harmed because of inaction. An example of passive negligence would be if a hazard existed on a property and the property owner did not fix it. Then, someone on the property suffers physical bodily harm because of the hazard.
To establish negligence certain factors must be true. These include
- A duty of care existed.
- The duty was breached.
- The breach of duty of care caused an injury accident.
- The breach of duty leads to physical bodily harm to another party or parties.
Speak to an Attorney at Fulgencio Law Today
It is essential that when a personal injury claim or a lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff shows negligence took place. For help with this, please call the Tampa personal injury lawyers at Fulgencio Law to schedule a free consultation at (813) 463-0123 to have your accident experience evaluated by a professional.