Legal Definitions - Negligence

Negligence is when someone fails to act with the level of care that a reasonable person would have in the same situation. This can include not doing something they should have done, or doing something they shouldn't have done.

There are four things that need to be proven to show that someone was negligent:

1. The person had a legal duty to the other person
2. The person breached that duty
3. The other person was injured
4. The breach caused the injury

For example, if a doctor fails to diagnose a patient's illness and the patient gets worse, the doctor may be considered negligent because they had a duty to diagnose the illness, they breached that duty by not doing so, the patient was injured, and the breach caused the injury.

Another example could be a business owner who doesn't clean up a spill on the floor, and a customer slips and falls. The business owner had a duty to keep the premises safe, they breached that duty by not cleaning up the spill, the customer was injured, and the breach caused the injury.

When determining whether someone was negligent, the court will consider how likely it was that harm would result, how severe the harm could be, and how easy it would be to prevent the harm. If it was likely that harm would result, the harm could be severe, and it would be easy to prevent the harm, then the person may be considered negligent.