Breaking Down a Negligence Case

In many personal injury cases we encounter, we also have to determine whether negligence played a role in the injury or accident that occurred. The following blog will break down the parts of a negligence case to give you a better idea of what to do in case you or a loved one experiences a personal injury.

1. Duty of Care

A reasonable duty of care separates an accident from negligence. If someone gets injured due to another person’s lack of care, negligence would be considered. Duty of care can vary based on individual situations.

For example, car accidents require a different level of care than slip and fall injuries. In a car accident, the driver is expected to operate the vehicle with care, whereas business owners need to keep storefronts safe to prevent slip and fall accidents. A breach of this duty occurs when a person doesn’t take appropriate care in a situation, thus leading to injury.

2. Breach of Duty

With duty of care in place, the next step is to establish how it was breached or violated. Personal injury attorneys will help determine if a person should be considered at fault in an accident. To do so, they will consider the following factors:

• Violated traffic laws
• Eyewitness accounts
• Evidence of damage at the scene

Someone would be considered negligent if the court decides that the average person would know that the actions in question would cause an injury.

Comparative Negligence

Comparative negligence becomes an important factor in determining damages in a negligence case. For example, if police find that an injured driver was traveling above the posted speed limit, he or she will receive lesser compensation. According to Oregon negligence law, victims will be able to collect some level of damage compensation as long as their fault doesn’t exceed 51% of total fault in the accident.

Dealing with negligence cases is one of our specialties. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, we’re here to help. Contact Paul Galm Law today or visit our office in Beaverton for personalized and compassionate assistance in a personal injury case.