4 Common Types of Breached Duty of Care

If you have been injured and are trying to figure out whether you have a case, you may be looking into a breach of duty of care. Essentially this is when one party should have provided a particular level of care and failed to do so. There are multiple ways in which duty of care can be breached, so you must understand them all. The more you know about how duty of care can be breached, the easier it will be to understand your situation and present it to a personal injury lawyer. If you can establish a breached duty of care, you are in an excellent position to pursue legal action.

RELATED: Can I File A Lawsuit Against The Party That Caused My Injury?

Simple Negligence

Simple negligence occurs when an expected standard of care or attention is not achieved. This lack of awareness then causes an accident or injury. Any personal injury attorney can tell you that there is at least some level of simple negligence involved in most cases where someone was injured. For example, in a car accident, if someone accidentally runs a red light, fails to stop at a stop sign, or changes lanes without signaling, it may indicate some simple negligence was involved. It is essential to pay attention to the accident scene and keep an accurate record of what occurred. This record will help you and your injury lawyer establish simple negligence if it happened.

Gross Negligence

Gross negligence is another kind of common negligence. This goes beyond the accidental nature of simple negligence and implies a level of intention. In this case, it would be if someone knew they were making a decision that could put someone else in danger and continued to make a poor decision for whatever reason. Gross negligence is an intentional lack of care that results in a personal injury or accident. It is important to note that gross negligence is not done with an intent to cause harm, but rather it is willfully done despite the knowledge that the action might cause damage. If gross negligence was involved in your accident or injury, it is even more likely that you will have success in court with the help of your injury attorney.

Recklessness

On the other hand, reckless conduct is behavior that the culprit not only knew could cause harm but that they knew it would cause harm. This intentionally harmful behavior can lead to significant accidents and injuries. The difficulty a personal injury law firm may have with proving recklessness is that you must prove that there was intent behind the action. If you can prove the intent to harm, you will be in good shape if you take your accident to court. It is crucial that reckless behavior is shown to be more than simply negligent and that there was a very high likelihood of significant harm. Lawsuit lawyers must show that a reasonable person would have recognized the potential for injury and not participated in the particular behavior.

Premises Injury (Slip & Fall)

A slip or fall on someone’s property can also point to a breached duty of care. Sometimes a slip or fall is simply due to clumsiness on your part, but there are many instances where the actual location was unsafe and conducive to slipping and falling. Essentially, if the property owner was careless and created a dangerous environment, they may be liable for your slip. Accident injury lawyers can help you determine whether the other party is at fault. For example, if their property was damaged or a significant spill did not get cleaned and then led to your trip, that points to a breach of duty of care. Personal injury law is clear on the specifics of what kinds of situations mean to breach of care in a premises injury.

RELATED: 7 Types of Damages Available After a Personal Injury

When you are injured, it is vital to get the support you need through personal injury claims. Taking care to document the incident and keep a record can help you to pinpoint any breached duty of care in your bodily injury claim. With that information on hand, you can reach out to a lawyer and pursue your case so that you can receive a personal injury settlement.

If you live in the Carolinas and believe that you have a personal injury case, then please contact us today.