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How to Prove Negligence in a California Personal Injury Case

Negligence involves an act or the failure to act with the same degree of care and caution that an ordinary and reasonably prudent person would use under the same circumstances. When a person is determined to have been negligent, he or she breached a duty of care to avoid causing injury or harm to other people and their property. When there’s a breach of that duty and injury or damage to others results, a person can be determined to be negligent.

If you or a loved one have been injured due to the negligence of an individual, corporation or other entity, contact us today for a free consultation and we will explain your rights to you.

Proving Negligence in California

If a person is determined to be negligent in California, an accident victim becomes eligible for damages. Certain elements of negligence must be proved though, and if any one of those elements has not been proved, the entire negligence claim fails. Here are those elements:

  • Duty: The person who was allegedly negligent must have owed the alleged victim a duty of care and caution.
  • Breach of Duty: If a duty of care to the alleged victim was owed, and there must be a breach of that duty by failing to take reasonable measures to protect the alleged victim from injury
  • Cause: But for the negligent act or failure to act of the allegedly negligent person, the accident never would have occurred.
  • Proximate Cause: The cause of the accident that the victim was in was sufficiently related to his or her injuries.
  • Damages: The victim suffered actual damages like medical or hospital bills, disfigurement or disability.

Damages

Assuming that an accident victim has proved each and every one of the five above elements, he or she is entitled to an award of compensatory damages. Those damages might consist of the following:

  • Past and future medical bills.
  • Lost earnings or diminished earning capacity.
  • Pain and suffering.
  • Any permanent disfigurement or disability.
  • Loss of enjoyment of life.
  • Other valuable damages in the event of a wrongful death.

Contact a California Prove Negligence in Injury Case Lawyer Today

Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys have a wide variety of defenses that can be raised when an accident victim is attempting to prove negligence. Those are intended to devalue or even defeat your claim of negligence. You’ll need your own qualified and experienced California negligence lawyer to represent your best interests in any personal injury case. Contact us at Maison Law for a free consultation and case evaluation with a California personal injury lawyer from our offices. If we determine that you were a victim of negligence and eligible for damages, you’ll be advised accordingly. We’ll be available to represent you in any such case.

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