What Is Negligence?

If someone else’s careless actions caused your injury, you may have a negligence claim under Florida law. Negligence is the legal standard used in most personal injury cases to determine whether someone is responsible for another person’s injuries.

Put simply, a person or company acts negligently when they fail to use reasonable care, and that failure causes harm to someone else.

If you were hurt in an accident, what you are really asking is: did someone else fail to act carefully, and did that failure cause what happened to you? That is the heart of a negligence claim.

The Four Elements of Negligence

To win a negligence case, four things must be shown. If any one is missing, the claim does not hold up. Here is what each one means in plain terms:

• Duty: The other party had a legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward you. Drivers owe a duty to others on the road. Property owners owe a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe. Doctors owe a duty to treat patients according to accepted medical standards.
• Breach: The other party failed to meet that duty. They did something a reasonable person would not have done, or they failed to do something a reasonable person would have.
• Causation: Their breach caused your injury, not an unrelated factor.
• Damages: You suffered actual harm, whether physical, financial, or emotional, as a result.

What “Reasonable Care” Actually Means

The phrase “reasonable care” comes up constantly in negligence law, and it trips up a lot of people. It does not mean perfect care or zero risk. Courts look at what a reasonable person would have done under the same circumstances.

A driver who runs a red light is not acting reasonably. A store that leaves a spill on the floor for hours without putting up a sign or cleaning it up is not acting reasonably. A surgeon who operates on the wrong body part is not acting reasonably. The standard shifts depending on the situation, but it always comes back to the same question: what would a careful, sensible person have done?

Types of Negligence That Come Up in Injury Cases

Negligence looks different depending on the type of accident. Some common situations include:

• Car accidents: Distracted driving, speeding, failure to yield, and driving under the influence are all forms of negligent driving.
• Slip-and-fall accidents: A property owner who ignores a known hazard or fails to warn visitors about a dangerous condition may be negligent.
• Medical malpractice: When a healthcare provider deviates from accepted standards of care and a patient is harmed as a result.
• Truck accidents: Negligent hiring, improper loading, or pushing drivers beyond legal hours-of-service limits.
• Premises liability: Inadequate lighting, broken stairs, or a lack of security in areas where crime is foreseeable.

Comparative Negligence in Florida

Florida follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Florida Statutes § 768.81. This means that if you were partially at fault for the accident, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. However, if you are found to be more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover damages at all.

For example, if your total damages are $100,000 but you were found 20% at fault, you would recover $80,000. If you are found 55% at fault, you recover nothing. Insurance companies frequently try to shift fault onto injured people to reduce what they owe, which is why the way fault is argued matters enormously.

How Negligence Compares to Recklessness and Intentional Conduct

Negligence is not the only basis for a personal injury claim, but it is the most common. Here is how these three standards compare:

• Negligence: Careless conduct without intent to harm.
• Recklessness: Conscious disregard of a known and substantial risk.
• Intentional conduct: Deliberate action meant to cause harm.

Most car accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, and medical injuries fall under negligence. Drunk driving cases sometimes rise to the level of recklessness, which can open the door to punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.

Discuss Your Negligence Case With Our Florida Personal Injury Attorneys

If you believe someone else’s carelessness caused your injury, you do not have to piece together the legal side of this on your own. Smith, Feddeler & Smith, P.A., has a long-standing history of taking cases from the first conversation through trial, if that is what it takes. Insurance companies know we do not settle for less than what our clients deserve, and that changes how they negotiate. 

Reach out at (863) 355-4204 or contact us online for a free case evaluation.

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13575 58th St North #200
Clearwater, FL 33760

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$1,200,000.00
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$350,000.00
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Claimant worked as a bus driving and during an evacuation she jumped off the bus causing her to fall resulting in a serious back injury.

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Claimant worked for a transport company. One day he was forced to get under a trailer and while he was lifting and twisting, the Claimant injured his back and knee, which was left untreated until he retained representation and filed Petitions for Benefits. Unfortunately, the severity or the injury coupled with the delay in treatment caused the Claimant to developed CRPS.