Injured victims in Georgia personal injury cases have the burden of proving the legal elements necessary to establish liability. Negligence is among the most common grounds for personal injury claims. It is the failure to exercise a specific level of care. To recover a fair settlement or verdict for your case, you must prove each of the four elements of negligence, including breach of duty.
The legal elements of a negligence claim are:
- Duty
- Breach of Duty
- Causation
- Damages
Each of these elements must link together to form liability. Before discussing breach of duty, it will help to understand what duty of care means.
What Is Duty of Care in a Georgia Personal Injury Case?
A duty creates a requirement to perform a specific type of conduct. The requirement is created by a legal, moral, custom, or personal commitment. In a personal injury case, duty refers to the requirement to act with reasonable care to avoid causing someone to be injured or harmed.
For example, property owners have a duty of care to maintain their property in a safe condition for guests. Drivers have a duty to obey Georgia traffic laws and use reasonable care to avoid causing a collision. A medical provider has a duty to provide care that meets the medical standard of care for a given situation.
The first step in a negligence claim is to prove that the other party owed you a duty of care. Then, you must prove the party breached their duty of care.
Proving a Breach of Duty in an Atlanta Personal Injury Case
Proving breach of duty is a multi-step process. First, you must establish the level of care the party should have used. In most situations, the level of care is based on the “reasonable person” standard. A jury determines what a reasonable person would have done under the same circumstances.
Second, the jurors compare the party’s actions to the standard of care. If the party’s conduct fell short of the reasonable standard of care, the jurors may find that the party breached their duty of care.
The standard of care varies based on the circumstances and facts of the case. The level of care may be different in your case compared to a similar one. A slight change in circumstances could change the level of care.
Examples of Breach of Duty in a Personal Injury Case
Examples of ways that someone can breach the duty of care for an injury case include:
- A property owner fails to post warnings or make repairs for worn and broken stairs, which results in someone falling
- A driver makes an illegal U-turn and fails to yield the right of way, causing a car accident
- A doctor fails to check a patient’s allergies and prescribes the wrong medication
- A hotel fails to perform adequate inspections of the hot tub equipment, causing a guest to sustain an injury
- An apartment owner is notified of bed bugs and fails to take steps to address the problem, causing multiple units to become infested with bed bugs
At this point, you may have proven that the party owed you a duty of care and that they breached that duty. However, you must link the breach of duty to the cause of your injuries before you can receive damages.
Linking Breach of Duty With Causation
The party’s actions must have been a direct and proximate cause of your injuries. Direct or actual cause is why something happens. In the example above, the car accident would not have happened if it had not been for the driver making the illegal U-turn. There is a link between the breach of duty and the cause of the crash.
However, you must also prove proximate cause. Proximate cause deals with foreseeability. Could the driver reasonably foresee that making a dangerous U-turn and failing to yield the right of way could cause a crash? Jurors may agree with the victim that it is reasonable in that case.
Causation can be one of the more challenging elements to prove in a personal injury claim. There must be clear evidence proving that the party’s actions or omissions caused your injuries.
Recovering Damages for a Breach of Duty Claim
Proving you were harmed is the final element. You must have sustained damages because of the party’s breach of duty. A personal injury claim can include economic and non-economic damages such as:
- Impairments and disabilities
- Medical expenses and bills
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Rehabilitative therapy
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Lost wages and earning capacity
- Diminished quality of life
- Out-of-pocket expenses
The value of your damages determines how much your case is worth. Many factors are used to calculate the value of damages. The strength of your evidence proving the elements of negligence is one factor. Your injuries and financial losses are also factors. An attorney can help you determine the correct amount to demand for a settlement.
Learn More During a Free Consultation With Our Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers
Proving the elements of negligence can be challenging in some personal injury cases. Our legal team at Hammers Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers can gather the necessary evidence and work hard to maximize the value of your claim. Contact us today at (770) 900-9000 to schedule a free case evaluation with an Atlanta personal injury attorney to discuss your case.
