Of all the legal terms that Tennessee residents will likely need to become familiar with in the course of preparing and pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, there is perhaps no more important term than “negligence.” This is the key term in most personal injury cases, which needs to be proven to be successful in court. So, how can you prove negligence in a personal injury lawsuit?
Well, for starters, the most important step is to understand the elements of “negligence,” which typically forms the basis of a personal injury claim. First, there must have been a duty owed between the parties involved in the lawsuit – one to another. Second, that duty must have been breached in some way. For instance, in a car accident, perhaps one driver was distracted by a cellphone – not paying attention to the task of driving. To engage in such conduct is to breach the duty that driver owes to all other drivers on the road, which is to operate the vehicle safely.
Next, the injured party must show that the breach of the duty that was owed directly led to the accident at issue. If all of the first three steps are proven, the injured party must also show that injuries resulted due to the accident and compensable damages were also a result.
Proving negligence in court comes down to the same thing that all other types of legal cases need: evidence. Victims who are pursuing a personal injury lawsuit will typically have such evidence as eyewitness testimony, accident reconstruction demonstrations, photographs and medical bills.