1. Civil Law 3.4 negligence

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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