Accidents happen and are sometimes unavoidable. Although, maybe you have been involved in an accident and are confident that another person caused it to happen. You did everything right, yet you are burdened with the consequences of financial and/ or physical damages. It is essential to know what signs to look for when you suspect negligence was the cause of your accident.
What is Negligence?
Negligence is conduct that falls below standards established by the law that results in risk or harm to others. To put it simply, it mostly consists of carelessness. Negligence can be committed by carelessness or non-performance of duties. There are many different kinds of negligence.
Negligence can be seen in automobile accidents, during lack of concern for hazards on a property, in medical settings, and in the workplace. Some causes include texting and driving, reckless driving, medical personnel administering the wrong medication or treatment, and ignored hazards in a public space or the workplace.
Contributory Vs. Comparative Negligence
Two terms you might hear are contributory and comparative negligence. Contributory negligence only remains recognized for personal injury law in four states, with North Carolina being one of them. It prevents a person from recovering any money in a personal injury lawsuit if they had any fault in the accident, even 1%. Comparative negligence allows the fault to be distributed to both parties. For example, if the person injured was 25% at fault, they could receive 75% of the damages. Read more in our post explaining the two.
5 Examples of an Accident Due to Someone Else’s Negligence
- There is a broken staircase on a property you are visiting. The property owner has known about this hazard, and there have been reports filed about it. Nothing has been done to address it, you have not been warned about the danger, and you injure yourself while walking up the staircase.
- A person is not paying attention to the road while texting and driving. The distracti
on causes the person to hit your car, injuring you and/or your passenger(s). - You are driving through a green light, and another driver runs a red light at a busy intersection, causing a collision. You and/or your passengers are injured from the collision.
- You are shopping at the local grocery store. A jar has shattered and spilled, and the mess has been there for 30 minutes with no “wet floor” sign in sight. You slip and fall and injure yourself on the glass.
- A person takes their dog to a public park, even though they are aware the dog is aggressive and has bitten before. While at the park, the owner lets the dog get close to you and the dog attacks, causing injury.
Signs Your Accident was Caused by Negligence
You might notice a trend in these examples; someone did not do something that a regular person would consider typical behavior. For example, someone didn’t put out a sign to warn people about the wet floor at the grocery store. Look for the following:
- Signs/cautions about the danger.
- Previous complaints filed about the danger.
- Previous citations given regarding similar or identical acts.
- Ignored claims of broken or damaged property.
Negligence can sometimes be difficult to determine, so it is always important to consult a lawyer. If you are unsure if your accident was caused by negligence, contact us for a free consultation from one of our caring attorneys.
