Negligence is the unintentional failure to use reasonable care. This can lead to liability if you had a legal duty of care, failed to uphold the duty, and thereby caused someone’s injuries.
10 common examples of negligence are:
- car accidents,
- slip and falls,
- defective products,
- dog bites,
- medical malpractice,
- workplace accidents,
- swimming pool accidents,
- inadequate security,
- e-scooter crashes, and
- negligent hiring.
1. Car accidents
Car accidents are one of the most common examples of negligence. Drivers can cause them by:
- driving distracted,
- driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol,
- not paying attention to the road,
- failing to see road hazards,
- disobeying the rules of the road,
- driving through a stop sign, or
- not being careful enough for the road conditions.
Drivers have a legal duty of care to drive reasonably safely for the conditions. If they fail to uphold that duty of care and they cause an accident, they can be held liable for the results. Because this is such a common and foreseeable occurrence, drivers are generally required to have car insurance. That auto insurance has to have at least some liability insurance to cover the losses of the people that got hurt.
2. Slip and falls
A slip and fall happens when you visit someone else’s property, slip or trip on something, and get hurt.
Under premises liability law, property owners and managers have to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. This can mean:
- putting up warning signs about something inconspicuous, like a step down or a wet floor,
- fixing broken fixtures, like stairs,
- looking for dangerous conditions,
- keeping visitors away from dangerous conditions, like electrical hazards, or
- promptly cleaning up messes that could cause someone to slip.
Some jurisdictions require property owners to take more steps to protect certain types of visitors. These states distinguish between:
- trespassers, who have neither permission nor a legal right to be on the property,
- licensees, who are permitted to be on the premises for their own benefit, and
- invitees, who have been invited to be on the premises for the benefit of the owner.[1]
Many other jurisdictions, including California, require property owners to take steps that are reasonable. This looks at numerous factors surrounding the injury.[2]
3. Defective products
Companies can negligently create products that hurt people. This can happen in 3 different ways:
- design defects are products that have a faulty design that poses a risk of injury,
- manufacturing defects are mistakes made during the manufacturing process that make the product unsafe, and
- warning failures, which do not inform users of the dangers of the product.
Victims of these defective products can use products liability law to file a personal injury claim against the company that produced them.
4. Dog bites
Dog owners can also be negligent in securing their pets. If you get hurt by a dog bite, you can hold the owner liable.
State laws handle dog bites in 2 different ways.
Many states, including California, hold dog owners strictly liable for dog attacks. In these states, victims can generally recover compensation even if:
- the dog has never bitten anyone before, and
- the owner had no idea that the dog was dangerous.[3]
Many other states use the so-called “one bite rule.” In these states, the owner can generally only be held liable if he or she knew or should have known of the dog’s aggressiveness. The most important piece of evidence in these cases is whether the dog has bitten someone before.[4]
5. Medical negligence or malpractice
Healthcare providers can also be negligent. If they fail to uphold the appropriate duty of care, they can commit medical malpractice.
The standard of care that medical professionals have to uphold is different. Typically, to be negligent, people have to act like a reasonable person would have, in similar circumstances. Medical professionals, however, have to act like reasonably careful practitioners in their field.[5]
Showing that a medical professional failed to meet this enhanced level of care generally requires an expert witness.
6. Workplace accidents
People can behave negligently in the workplace, as well. This can take a huge variety of forms and can cause a wide variety of workplace injuries, like:
- a delivery driver getting hit by another car,
- a construction worker falling off a scaffold,
- a nurse getting hurt while trying to restrain a patient, and
- boxes falling on a warehouse worker.
Because occupational injuries are so common, employers generally have to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Rather than suing your employer, if you get hurt at work you file for workers’ comp. This process is faster than a personal injury claim. However, it also does not provide for all of the damages that you may be entitled to receive.
7. Swimming pool accidents
While relatively rare, swimming pool accidents are often serious. Many are fatal drownings.
Pool owners can be negligent for failing to adequately secure their pool. Because it is foreseeable that children would trespass to use the pool, owners have to take reasonable steps to prevent this from happening. This is known as the attractive nuisance doctrine. Many states and municipalities have strict building codes that specify what steps pool owners have to take. Failing to take them can expose the pool owner to premises liability.
8. Inadequate security
Business establishments can be negligent in the security that they provide for their patrons. If property owners could have reasonably anticipated the harm, but failed to take reasonable care to prevent it, it can amount to negligence. These negligent security claims are based on premises liability.
For example: Bozo’s is a nightclub in a high crime area. 3 female patrons ask a security guard to accompany them across the dark parking lot to their car. They tell the guard that one of the male patrons has been accosting them. The security guard tells them that he will watch from the doorway. As the 3 patrons reach their car, they are attacked by the male patron and seriously hurt before the guard can intervene.[6]
9. E-scooter crashes
An increasingly common and complex example of negligence is an e-scooter accident.
These accidents have become very common since ridesharing companies like Bird and Lime started providing access to shared e-scooters. The surprising speed that these scooters can reach can make them difficult for novice riders to control. Other riders often disregard the rules of the road, which can be vague for electric scooters. Both of these factors have contributed to a high frequency of crashes.
These accidents are complicated because there may not be liability insurance to cover the victim’s losses. Car insurance companies generally limit their coverage to automobiles. Lime and Bird frequently put the blame for the crash on the rider so they do not have to pay. In some cases, victims have been able to use the negligent rider’s liability policy in their homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy. If this is not available, victims often have to hold the rider personally liable.
10. Negligent hiring
Companies can be held liable for their negligence in hiring, supervising, or retaining a worker. If the worker harms someone else – whether negligently or on purpose – the employer could be held liable if they knew or should have known that the worker was a threat.
For example: A ridesharing company hires a driver without doing a background check. This fails to uncover the driver’s long criminal history of sexual assault convictions. While working, the driver picks up a female passenger. Before dropping her off, he commits a sexual assault.
What do these common examples of negligence cases have in common?
All of these examples of negligence follow the 3 elements of tort law:
- the defendant had a legal duty of care to the victim,
- the defendant failed to uphold that duty of care or breached it with an act or omission, and
- that breach of duty was a substantial factor in causing the victim’s losses.[7]
Plaintiffs who prove these 3 elements of negligence by a preponderance of the evidence can recover compensation for their losses. That compensation can cover things like the injured party’s
- medical bills for necessary medical care,
- wage loss,
- personal property damage, and
- non-economic damages.
In car crashes, for example, drivers have a legal duty of care to drive reasonably safely. If a driver fails to drive reasonably safely and that causes a crash, they can be held liable.
In negligent security cases, establishments have a legal duty of care to keep their patrons safe. If the establishment is aware of a danger but does not take reasonable steps to protect its patrons, it can breach that duty of care. If this causes the victim’s injuries, the establishment can be held liable.
A personal injury attorney from a reputable law firm can help you recover the compensation that you need to recover from someone else’s negligent acts.
What is gross negligence?
Gross negligence is worse than normal negligence. However, it does not amount to recklessness. It is also still unintentional. It is often described as:
- the lack of any care whatsoever, or
- an extreme departure from what a reasonably careful person would do to ensure the safety of others.[8]
The difference between negligence and gross negligence is not always relevant. However, in some areas of personal injury law, defendants will only be liable for their gross negligence. One example is if the victim signed a liability waiver. These waivers hold the defendant harmless for its ordinary negligence. If there is an enforceable waiver, the defendant’s actions must have been grossly negligent or worse for the defendant to be held liable.
Even where it is not a required element to prove in a personal injury lawsuit, gross negligence can be necessary to recover punitive damages. These damages are rarely awarded in cases based on normal negligence.
What if the personal injury case involves a fatality?
If someone’s negligence causes a fatality, the deceased victim’s family or loved ones can file a wrongful death claim of the victim’s behalf. The legal advice and representation of a personal injury lawyer is essential for these types of negligence claims.
[1] See Georgia Code 51-3-1 through 51-3-3.
[2] California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) No. 1001.
[3] California Civil Code 3342 CIV.
[4] See Borns v. Voss, 70 P.3d 262 (Wyo. 2003).
[5] See CACI No. 501.
[6] Facts based on Taylor v. Centennial Bowl, Inc., 65 Cal.2d 114 (1966).
[7] CACI No. 400.
[8] See CACI No. 425.
