Negligence is an important legal theory that serves a significant role in many personal injury claims. For example, when a Mississippi resident is injured in a violent car accident, their personal injury attorney may advise them on how negligence may form the grounds of their lawsuit for damages. No part of this post should be read as legal advice, but readers may use this post’s contents as an introduction to negligence as a critical legal tool.
Elements of negligence claims
Negligence is not a single idea but rather a set of elements. Each element is a necessary piece that requires proof in order for a claim of negligence to be successful in court. The elements of negligence include the following:
- Duty: An individual must owe a duty of care to a victim to be liable for the other’s injuries in a negligence claim. In many instances, individuals owe each other a duty to act reasonably given the circumstances that they are in.
- Breach of duty: When a duty is breached, it opens the door to a claim of negligence.
- Causation: The act or omission of breaching one’s duty of care to a victim must be the cause of the victim’s losses.
- Damages: The victim in a negligence claim must experience real losses to seek their recovery from the negligent party.
Building a case based on negligence can be difficult. Victims can elect to seek the help of personal injury attorneys for help.
Pursuing losses in a timely manner
In the wake of a car accident, it may not be a priority for a victim to start a lawsuit for the recovery of their losses. Their concerns may be on their health and the stability of their family. However, victims of accidents based on negligence should know that there is a limited window of time during which they may pursue their losses. In Mississippi that window is 3 years.
When they are ready, victims of personal injury accidents can begin the process of protecting their legal rights to the recovery of their damages. Their attorneys can support them each step of the way as they assert claims of negligence against the parties that harmed them.
