How Do You Prove Negligence in a Personal Injury Claim?

The crux of a personal injury claim is proving negligence since the entity that was negligent is responsible to cover the losses and damages of those they injure. Talk to a personal injury attorney in Waldorf, MD to get experienced help in gathering the evidence you need and using it to prove negligence.

From a Waldorf, MD, Personal Injury Attorney: How Negligence Is Proven

To have an effective case, you must prove four elements: that someone had a duty of care toward you, that they failed in the duty of care, that this failure caused an accident where you suffered damages, and precisely what those damages are.

Proving Duty of Care

The duty of care refers to the responsibility every person has to behave in a way that protects themselves and others in any given situation. In a car accident, for example, the duty of care is assumed: every driver has a responsibility to follow all traffic laws and drive safely.

In a medical setting, a healthcare professional has a duty to provide care according to what a reasonable person in their position would do under those circumstances. Your lawyer’s first step will be to show that the negligent party owed you a duty of care.

Proving a Breach of Duty

The next step is to prove that there was a breach in this duty. In the car accident scenario, this would mean proving that the negligent party was breaking a traffic law, driving at a reckless speed for the weather conditions, or driving impaired.

In a medical situation, it can be more complicated because you will probably need an expert witness to testify that the treatment you received was not what another healthcare professional would have provided in those same circumstances. In a slip-and-fall case, proving a breach of duty might involve showing through video or internal reports that a store owner knew about a hazard but failed to address it or to warn visitors.

Proving the Breach Caused the Accident

Just because someone failed in their duty of care does not in itself make them liable. You must also show that but for their action or inaction, the accident would never have happened in the first place or, at the very least, their action or inaction materially contributed to the accident. This usually requires witness testimony, photos and video evidence, and sometimes expert witness testimony to reconstruct an accident.

Proving Damages

Finally, you have to show that you actually suffered damages because of the other person’s negligence. Say you were misdiagnosed, for example. The misdiagnosis was caught early on, and you did not have extra medical bills or physical suffering because of it. Even if it clearly was a case of medical malpractice, you likely would not have a case because there are no actionable damages.

Proving all of these elements can be tricky, but an experienced lawyer will know how to find and use the right evidence to show what really happened. If you’ve been injured by someone’s negligence, talk to us now at Farmer and Klopfer Law Firm in Waldorf or Upper Marlboro, MD. 

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