Nevada law determines negligence when an individual fails to act as a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances, instead causing damage or harm to others.
Based on responsibility and reasonable foresight, this doctrine expects individuals and entities to exercise caution, care, and avoid foreseeable harm to others. The concept of negligence is integral in Nevada criminal and civil law scenarios.
It’s the foundation for many personal injury and accident cases, including medical malpractice, auto accidents, and slip and fall incidents. The state further follows a modified comparative negligence rule which acknowledges that in many situations, more than one party may share fault for an injury or accident.
It allows the blame to be distributed among all parties involved based on their level of responsibility. Go here for a guide on negligence and breach of duty of care.
Negligence Role in Criminal and Civil Law
Nevada law defines negligence as a breach of a duty of care that results in harm. This breach occurs when someone fails to uphold the standard of conduct most reasonably careful people would exhibit in similar circumstances. These standards encompass four essential elements.
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
Negligence is integral in civil and criminal law cases. With civil law, it functions as the foundation for personal injury suits, holding responsible parties accountable for the harm caused by their careless actions. With criminal law, though less common, negligent acts could rise to the level of criminal negligence.
The behavior would go beyond what would constitute a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would do, so reckless potentially resulting in criminal charges. To prove negligence successfully under Nevada law, an attorney must be able to prove each element thoroughly. Let’s elaborate on these elements.
Key Elements to Successfully Prove Negligence
Negligence law requires the establishment of four key elements to successfully prove a case. Consider the following in-depth descriptions.
Duty of care
The duty of care refers to the obligation individuals and entities have to exercise reasonable care toward others to prevent harm. For example, motorists have a duty of care to follow the traffic rules to ensure other drivers are safe on the roadways.
Public establishments, such as markets have a duty of care to maintain their properties in safe conditions. Failure to do so can trigger a liability claim if someone is injured.
Breach of duty
When a person fails to fulfill their duty of care, it’s referred to as a breach of duty. They do not follow the actions of a reasonably prudent person in a similar situation. If a supermarket manager or the workers were aware of a spill and did nothing to warn customers or mop the floor, this would be a breach of duty.
This can be evidenced by video footage or photos of the spill and witness testimony from customers who noticed the spill and the manager’s failure to exercise reasonable care, resulting in a slip and fall accident.
Visit – Legal Definition and Examples of Breach of Duty – American Judicial System for the legal definition of breach of duty and examples.
Causation
Causation connects the breach of duty to the injury suffered by the fall victim. The victim must show that they would not have been injured if it wasn’t for the responsible party’s negligent actions or inaction.
The attorney must prove that the fall and subsequent injury was a direct result of the spill that the supermarket manager failed to clean up. Proving causation typically requires demonstrating cause-in-fact and proximate cause.
Cause-in-fact means the injuries would not have happened except for the party’s responsible actions. Proximate cause means the injuries were a foreseeable consequence of these actions.
Damages
Damage is the harm that resulted from negligence. They can be emotional, physical, or financial. While you may have a physical injury from a slip and fall on a spill in the market, it will likely result in medical expenses, lost income, and emotional distress.
Types Of Damages in Negligence Cases
Harm suffered by the victim in negligence cases in Nevada is categorized as economic or non-economic damage and can be further broken down into subcategories as follows.
Economic damages
Economic damage is measurable, direct out-of-the-pocket expenses resulting from the negligence of another individual.
- Medical expenses: Costs for immediate medical care, ongoing treatment, rehab, and medical equipment. If a fracture results from a slip and fall, victims can be compensated for immediate medical expenses such as ambulance fees, ER costs, setting the fracture, and future expenses such as surgeries or therapies.
- Lost income: Sometimes, injuries result in missed work and lost wages. Victims can be compensated for this lost income they would have otherwise earned.
Non-economic damages
Non-economic damage compensates the victim for non-tangible losses that do not have a clear monetary value.
- Pain and suffering: This relates to the physical pain and emotional distress suffered due to the injuries and from the trauma of the incident.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: Some injured parties may be compensated for this loss if their injuries restrict them from enjoying activities that were once beloved by them.
In more severe cases where negligent behavior is intentional or especially egregious, the court may award punitive damages. These are designed to more so punish the responsible party and deter future similar incidents. This, however, is rare, and not often applicable in most cases of negligence.
A negligence claim in Nevada requires careful navigation through these elements with the help of a skilled and talented personal injury lawyer to ensure that each is demonstrated and substantiated. It’s recommended to engage a seasoned, well-equipped firm like Friedman Injury Law to represent your interests.
Final Thought
When someone else’s negligent conduct results in injuries or loss for you, you have a legal right to file a claim to hold them accountable and get fair compensation. This is a case that requires help from a legal expert to guide you through the complexities of proving negligence.
An aggressive and experienced attorney will prove the case by a preponderance of evidence making it easier for you to recover your losses, get justice and receive the compensation you deserve.
