Proving the negligence of an individual is the goal of most personal injury cases. As long as a person is found to have directly caused damages to another because of a breach of their own responsibilities, they can be found negligent.

The Importance of Negligence in Personal Injury Cases

When you are hurt in an accident, you may have cause to sue for negligence. In simple terms, this implies the failure of someone who is responsible for the safety of others. However, the actual process of proving negligence involves a bit more legal theatre. In a personal injury case, two parties will work to prove or disprove the existence of four key elements which make up negligence: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Only when all four factors weigh in favor of the plaintiff do they successfully sue.

Breaches of Duty

Whether people are consciously aware of it or not, they have certain duties in outside environments. Take for example an auto accident: legally, everyone should be aware that they are bound to obey traffic laws. This also means that they are responsible for the safety of others. If they fail in this, they have breached their duty and may be liable for damages.

Two Types of Causation

Causation exists simultaneously in two forms: legal and proximate cause. Legal tends to state the obvious, that if not for one person’s actions, the resulting damage wouldn’t have occurred.

Proximate cause, alternatively, can become complicated depending on the circumstances. Consider this scenario: a driver runs a red light, and you have to swerve to avoid a collision. In the process, you accidentally bump a high curb, agitating your neck. Obviously, you wouldn’t have swerved if the other driver hadn’t run the light, proving legal cause. However, that driver isn’t directly responsible for your misfortune, which makes proximate cause harder to prove. It’s these situations that make Las Vegas injury attorneys particularly useful.

Damages

In order for you to have a case, naturally you must have suffered some kind of physical, emotional, or financial harm. Make sure you account for everything before you sue and prepare evidence as immediately as possible.