What is considered negligence in an accident in Prairieville?

Prairieville, LA – An important legal concept that is relevant in various kinds of accident and injury cases is negligence. While laws vary slightly by state, the general concept of negligence is that any person or business that is responsible for injuries and other losses can be sued to pay the victim. A negligence case has four elements that are relevant to a deviation of the level of care that should have been exercised in the situation. Accident attorneys are available to explain more about this concept during the course of a consultation.

The reasonable person standard

To find out if an individual deviated from the standard of care in a situation, their actions must be compared to what a reasonable person in the same situation would have done. While this can vary slightly based on the type of accident in question and where the incident happened, a reasonable person follows all relevant laws and safety regulations, and they never act recklessly. The reasonable person is also careful to not engage in any behaviors that might compromise the safety of others.

The elements of negligence

The basic elements of any negligence case include a few different findings. There must be a relevant duty of care applied to the situation, the defendant must have deviated from this standard of care, there must have been causation of the plaintiff’s injuries by the defendant’s actions, and the plaintiff must show actual losses called damages. If a jury or judge finds that one or more of these elements are missing, the plaintiff cannot win the lawsuit.

Calculating damages

The amount of damages that the plaintiff can show is an important concept, as their compensation is directly related to this amount. Economic losses tend to include the costs of healthcare related to emergency treatment, hospitalization, medications, and recovery. Another part of economic damages are the person’s lost income and wages related to their time away from work. These costs can also be projected for months or years into the future if the victim has a disability or other problems working due to their injuries. Another separate category of damages is non-economic damages for pain and suffering. This allows the person to be compensated based on various forms of mental or physical pain, along with other problems that may affect their quality of life that are tied to the injuries. Louisiana law also allows punitive damages to punish a defendant in situations that involve drunk driving accidents.

Louisiana personal injury lawyers

Miller, Hampton, and Hilgendorf is a firm that works with injured clients in the Prairieville area. Their attorneys provide representation throughout the course of civil lawsuits for compensation in Louisiana.

Firm contact info:

Miller, Hampton, and Hilgendorf

3960 Government St., Baton Rouge, LA 70806

225-343-2205