What is "negligence"

Negligence refers to whether an action, or failure to act, is reasonable. Obvious examples of negligent acts could be when a motorist runs a red light, a business leaves a dangerous hole exposed where customers can fall into it, or a surgeon leaves a sponge inside a patient. Examples of negligent failure to act would be failure to wear a seatbelt, failure of a store to warn customers of a condition known by the store to be dangerous, or failure of a doctor to review x-rays before a surgery.

The law considers negligence according to what the “reasonable person” would or would not do under the circumstances. Sometimes the law specifies what a person may or may not do. Therefore, there are cases where the violation of the law can be negligence. For example, people may have differing opinions on whether it is reasonable to wear seatbelts while in a car or a helmet while on a motorcycle: but the law requires seatbelts and motorcycle helmets, and the failure to comply with those laws would generally be regarded as negligence.

Another word for “negligence” is “fault.” You can only make a claim against someone for your injuries if that person was at fault.

If you are partially at fault for your loss, you will still be entitled to recover part of your losses. This is called the law of “comparative fault.” Your damages will be reduced by the amount of your negligence. For example, if the other party is 75 percent at fault and you are 25 percent at fault, the other party will be responsible for 75 percent of your damages. In Oregon, you will not be entitled to recover your losses is your fault is greater than the other person’s fault. If you’re each 50 percent at fault, you can recover 50 percent of your damages. But if you are over 50 percent at fault, you will not be entitled to recover anything from the other person. That limitation does not apply in Washington. Washington has the law of “pure comparative negligence” in which the party at fault must pay his or her portion of your damages. If the other person’s negligence is 5 percent, you are entitled to receive 5 percent of your damages from that person.


Personal Injury Claims