Personal injury accidents happen each day all across the city of New York. Many of these incidents are caused by the individuals who suffer harm. However, others involve dangerous conditions created by parties who do not fulfill their duties of care to other individuals.
Negligence is a legal theory that is based on reasonableness and the execution of duties of care. Certain relationships, like a doctor’s responsibilities to their patients, involve easily identifiable duties of care. However, duties of care exist in more everyday circumstances too. For example, when a driver gets behind the wheel of their car, they have duty to exercise reasonableness in their driving behaviors.
When a person fails to fulfill their duty to others and acts unreasonably, they may be negligent. When negligence occurs and someone is hurt, the injured party may have the right to seek the recovery of their losses from the responsible party. The injured party may have to prove that the negligent party was the cause of their losses and that they actually suffered an injury due to that negligence.
When a driver texts while operating their vehicle and runs a red light, they may be liable for their victim’s injuries if they collide with another car that was legally in the intersection. A case based on a claim like this would require evidence and proof to demonstrate that the responsible party should be held liable for the other party’s losses. This post is a generalized discussion of negligence, and all readers should talk to their own attorneys before starting litigation based on personal injury and negligence.