Someone that has become careless and neglectful has demonstrated the type of behavior associated with negligence. That person has neglected to show a duty of care towards others or towards himself/herself. An accident usually takes place when someone has failed to exhibit a reasonable level of care, in order to prevent the occurrence of injuries.
Actions that work to avoid a display of negligence
Seeking to control one’s emotions helps to avoid a tendency to act out of passion. Such an action could hurt someone else, and could be labelled negligence. Giving thought to the appropriate actions for a given location, or for filling a specific role. A property owner should maintain that property, so that no visitor gets injured. A designer, a manufacturer and a marketer must make and market a safe product, so that no consumer gets hurt. Supervisors are supposed to train others, so that they can carry out their jobs in a safe manner. A supervisor that fails to carry-out such an action has been careless and neglectful.
Sometimes the failure to plan for the worst-case scenario allows a person or organization to appear negligent. Children that played baseball too close to a home and broke a window with a ball failed to be sufficiently careful. If a foul ball hits a spectator at ball park, the owners of the park have failed to take the proper precautions. Their failure to act shows that they did not consider the worst-case scenario.
Suppose 2 careless and neglectful people cause an accident?
If an accident occurs when 2 people are negligent, the legal system calls for an answer to this question: Which of the 2 was more careless? The person deemed most negligent will be the one that must pay some form of compensation.
Still, the monetary value of that compensation will definitely be less than it might have been, if that second party had been more careful. According to the legal system, the extent to which the second party contributed to creating the accident indicates the extent to which that party’s compensation should be reduced.
For instance, suppose that a driver hits a young girl, when she runs out into the street from between 2 parked cars. Drivers are expected to be on the lookout for any pedestrian. Personal Injury Lawyer in Cambridge knows that driver was guilty of negligence.
On the other hand, the young girl acted foolishly, by running into the street. The driver’s insurance company would emphasize the careless nature of her action. For that reason, the same insurance company would argue for a reduction of the girl’s compensation. In other words, the driver must provide a payout, but one that is smaller than it might have been.
