Civil Law 3.4 negligence

Elements of Negligence Duty: a legal obligation Breach of Duty: violation of a duty, either by engaging in an action or failing to act Causation: the reason an event occurs; that which produces an effect Damages: the injuries or losses suffered by one person due to the fault of another

Reasonable Person Standard Civil law involves the “reasonable person”: someone who is an idealized version of the average individual. If you do not behave the way the “reasonable person” would, you have breached a duty. The “reasonable person” balances the likelihood and seriousness of harm against the burden of avoiding the harm.

Causation There must be proof that the defendant’s acts caused the harm to the plaintiff. Cause in fact: the plaintiff must prove he or she would not have been harmed if the defendant had not acted wrongfully Proximate cause: the harm caused must have been the foreseeable act of the defendant’s wrongful acts