Negligence 101

Like most states, Pennsylvania comparative negligence laws allow individuals who’ve been injured in an accident to recover compensation for damages – even when they are partly at fault for the accident (contributory negligence). However, depending on your degree of shared fault, your ability to recover damages might be affected. The damages which you can seek may be limited or, in some cases, you might be altogether barred from seeking compensation

Negligence, a type of wrongdoing that results in another person sustaining injury or harm, is a viable legal tort in which victims have a right to file a civil claim and seek compensation from the at-fault party. Injuries and damages caused by negligence often stem from a person’s carelessness or lack of appropriate action.

All personal injury claims or lawsuits are founded on the concept of negligence. Negligence is best understood in light of another key element of injury cases: duty of care. Duty of care refers to the responsibility everyone has not to cause harm to others. For example, drivers have a duty of care to all other road users. They must drive and conduct themselves in a safe manner, so that they do not injure anyone. The same holds true for doctors, who have a duty of care to their patients.

Negligence occurs when someone has breached their duty of care, such as when someone drives while intoxicated and endangers everyone else on the road or when a doctor fails to administer proper diagnostic tests.