Elements Of Negligence

Our society demands us to conduct ourselves in a certain way. If at all a person fails to contain himself to the tangents of the norms set by the law of the land, it can only mean trouble for that person. This is exactly where the elements of negligence come into play. The elements of negligence are what help safeguard society as a whole. If it wasn’t for the elements of negligence and the consequences the neglecting of the same can bring, society as a whole would be in a state of suspended disarray. For example, people living in a state that does not have the elements of negligence incorporated into its legal system wouldn’t really care about the consequences of their acts of carelessness. This only helps highlight the need for the elements of negligence in a civil society. Go ahead and read on to discover insight into the key elements of negligence.

 

This element of negligence makes for the most important element out of all the elements of negligence, arguably at least. However, to do justice to this element of negligence, instead of being addressed as the ‘Duty of Care’, it would make for more sense to address it as the ‘Duty of Caring’. This element is all about the care and concern that each and every human being with a sound and rational mind should show towards his/her fellow human beings. For example, you cannot ride rashly on a road full of fellow motorists and pedestrians. This is because, here, not only will you be putting yourself in danger, you will also be putting the lives of fellow motorists and pedestrians at risk, thereby grossly neglecting the duty of care.

Breach Of Duty

A person can be charged with the breach of duty when he/she fails to fulfill his obligations to another. This makes for the second element of negligence. It all comes together when a defendant has to meet moral or obligatory obligations to a plaintiff. In case the defendant does not meet the realistic expectations of the plaintiff, the whole scenario becomes what is best described as a ‘breach of duty’. Here, however, it is important to mention that apart from moral and obligatory obligations that need to be fulfilled, a defendant may also be expected to fulfill legal obligations.

Harm

A person or the defendant gets a cloudy element of negligence all over him/her when he/she is guilty of harm or damage caused to the person or property of the plaintiff. The intensity of the judgment passed by the judge will depend on the nature of the harm caused by the defendant to the person or property of the plaintiff. Decisions on the harm inflicted are almost always made by the jury or a judge and in most cases these decisions are fully accepted by the court.

Factual Causation

A person or defendant is charged of factual causation when it is proven by a court that he/she has been guilty of causing harm and discomfort to the person or property of the defendant. In this case, however, it is really expected of the defendant to be liable for the damages caused.

At times, the causes that lead to the elements of negligence may be factually correct; however, these causes may not fit right with their results. In other words, although the causation may be factually correct, it may not sit down well with the law of the land, which may make a judgment passed with this regard absolutely unethical. For example, if a rash motorist rides past a pedestrian and five seconds post the motorist passing by, the pedestrian is hit by another car; the rash motorist cannot be blamed for the accident. Although it may seem like the rash motorist may have had a role to play in the accident, he really wasn’t a part of it and thus may be allowed to go scot free.