In everyday life, we all have a sense of what negligence is. It means when someone fails to take proper care when doing something, more so if that person can reasonably be expected to be qualified to carry out the action with a certain amount of proficiency. In common law, negligence can be considered to be a breach of a duty of care that results in damages. The question is, how and when is someone acting negligently and when does that become an act where compensation may become appropriate? In this article, what is the definition of negligence, we take a look at this question in more depth.
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What are the different types of negligence?
General Negligence
Imagine you are doing your weekly shop in the local supermarket and one of the staff is pushing a large cart down the aisle. In fact, the cart is filled with so many boxes he cannot even see where he is going and runs into you at a fair rate of knots. This causes an injury to your foot that requires some medical care. This can be considered to be an act of general negligence.
Another example of general negligence is if you were eating at your favorite restaurant and you found a piece of glass in your food. Clearly, something had happened in the kitchen and glass shards found their way into the food. This is an act of general negligence.
In these everyday situations, it can sometimes be difficult to know whether a duty of care was owed. The test is, was it foreseeable that the injured person could be injured, and, is it fair, just, and reasonable to impose a duty? That is not always easy to interpret.
Professional Negligence
The definition of professional negligence is when a professional fails to perform their responsibilities to the required standard or breaches a duty of care. This poor conduct subsequently results in a financial loss, physical damage, or injury to the client or customer.
A claim of professional negligence can be made against anyone considered to have expertise in the services they provide; for example, a solicitor, estate agent, surveyor, accountant doctor, etc. For the claim to be successful there must be evidence that the service provided fell below the standards of their profession, resulting in negative consequences.
However, the duty can be limited by exclusions on what advice is being given. Just because an accountant agrees to advise on one aspect of the company’s tax affairs it may not be prepared to accept a duty of care in all other areas.
Examples of professional negligence include an accountant who did not advise about tax relief that was available, a surveyor who valued a property too high, and solicitors who made errors over the boundaries of a property.
What is Gross Negligence?
The definition of “gross” is unattractive, bloated, or large. In monetary terms, it means “without deduction.” In legal terms, the most simplistic way of considering what is gross negligence is a seriously careless act by a person that has fallen so far behind the reasonable standard of care. Sometimes gross negligence is a synonym with recklessness.
Examples include
- a doctor amputating the wrong limb on a patient
- a surgeon leaving a foreign body inside a patient
- speeding in a parking lot when people are walking to their cars
- a caregiver failing to feed the elderly for days at a time
- a business selling a product they know is harmful
It should be noted that gross negligence is not a concept of any real relevance in general negligence law. Either there was a breach of duty that caused the loss (and gives rise to a right to damages) or there is not. The damages are not higher if the negligence is particularly clear. If the work is really bad then it is likely that it will be easier to show that the duty to take care was breached, but the idea of negligence being very severe has little more relevance.
Breaches of Statutory Duty
This is a breach of a duty imposed on some person or body by a statute. The person or body in breach of the statutory duty is liable to any criminal penalty imposed by the statute, but may also be liable to pay damages to the person injured by the breach if he belongs to the class for whose protection the statute was passed. Not all statutory duties give rise to civil actions for breach. If the statute does not deal with the matter expressly, the courts must decide whether or not Parliament intended to confer civil remedies. Negligent acts can also be a breach of statutory duty.
A breach of statutory duty is often easier to prove than negligence. This is because the legislation or regulations impose defined duties of care and set out how the duty can be discharged.
What is contributory negligence?
If you contributed to your injury or loss then the compensation payable by the person who committed the wrong is liable to be reduced. This can even be to zero.
A good example is where a car driver or passenger does not wear a seat belt and is involved in a crash. Not wearing the seat belt does not cause the accident, but it contributes to the damage (the injury in this example). Another example is where an employee has failed to wear safety equipment. An accident occurs for other reasons, but the failure to wear safety equipment contributes to the injury, not the accident. If this claim is upheld by the court, the employer can suggest that any damages awarded to the complainant should be reduced by an amount that represents the portion of the blame assumed by the employee. If a claimant is found to have contributed by 20 percent, that same 20 percent will be deducted from the compensation received.
Conclusion
It is worth re-visiting the definition of negligence. It is conduct, or a failure to act, that breaches a duty to take care.
It breaks down into several elements, all of which must exist to give rise to a liability to pay compensation:
- There must be a duty owed.
- The action – or lack of action – needs to fall below the standard expected of a reasonably competent equivalent person. This is a breach of duty.
- And that breach must cause loss; whether physical damage to a person or property or even in some cases purely financial loss.
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We have a proven track record of helping clients deal with professional negligence claims. We will guide you through all the necessary legal due diligence in a comprehensive and timely manner. We firmly believe that with the right solicitors by your side, the entire process will seem more manageable and far less daunting.
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It is important for you to be well informed about the issues and possible implications of a professional negligence claim. However, expert legal support is crucial in terms of ensuring a positive outcome to your case..
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