What is Negligence?

Negligence is an important term in the legal world. If charged with a crime, the word negligence may be used to describe your actions when the crime occurred. The dictionary describes negligence as, “failure to take proper care in doing something”, but what does it mean when examined in a legal context? Let’s take a look.

What Does Negligence Mean in a Legal Context?

Turning back to the dictionary, negligence is defined in a legal matter as “failure to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another.” Negligence cases can be about car accidents, injuries in a public place, OSHA violations, child neglect, and more.

The two most common types of negligence are Gross and Comparative.

• Gross Negligence – This type of negligence is very serious and denotes a severe lack of care for the circumstances and safety of others. An example of gross negligence would be a surgeon leaving a piece of equipment or debris within their patient during surgery.
• Comparative Negligence – This type of negligence states that the person filing the claim is partially responsible for the damages or injuries that occurred. For example, if a driver hit by another driver wasn’t wearing their seat-belt, the plaintiff would still be responsible for a portion of the damages.

Negligent Driving and DUIs

Driving under the influence of alcohol is a form of negligent driving. By getting behind the wheel of a car while you’re intoxicated, you’re not taking the safety of the public into consideration and thus, putting others at risk.

Having a driver’s license legally obligates you to operate safely on the roads and to take care to avoid hurting other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. If you drive in a way which may cause, or has caused, accidents, then you are driving with negligence and may be punished according to the law.

Ross W. Albers Can Help You Navigate Your Negligence Case

Albers & Associates can help you with your case. He has a wealth of experience with cases concerning DUIs and personal injury and can extend that experience to you. If you have questions about how to proceed with your case, give us a call today for a free consultation.