Burden of Proof in Car Accident case; assertion of negligence

May 14, 2019 Posted in Articles Tagged in Personal Injury Share

Whether it is a Car Accident, Truck Accident, Motorcycle Accident, Slip and Fall, Trip and Fall and/or injury if an individual is asserting a negligence claim against another they have a burden of proving certain elements. In order to establish a common law cause of action in negligence the plaintiff must demonstrate that: 1) defendant owed a legally recognized duty to conform to a certain standard of care; 2) defendant breached that duty; 3) defendant’s breach was a factual cause of the resulting injury; and 4) plaintiff suffered actual damages as a result. Scampone v. Highland Park Care Center, LLC, 57 A.3d 582, 596 (Pa.2012).

Although this seems complex, the Pennsylvania Civil Jury Instruction 13.10 breaks down negligence as follows:

 A person must act in a reasonably careful manner to avoid [injuring] [harming] [damaging] others.

The care required varies according to the circumstances and the degree of danger at a particular time.

You must decide how a reasonably careful person would act under the circumstances established by the evidence in this case.

A person who does something a reasonably careful person would not do under the circumstances is negligent.

A person also can be negligent by failing to act.

A person who fails to do something a reasonably careful person would do under the circumstances is negligent.

If you were involved in a Car Accident, Truck Accident, Motor Cycle accident, Slip and Fall, and/or Trip and Fall and you have questions about whether you are liable for an injury or have questions regarding an injury please contact a Bethlehem Injury Lawyer at The Law Offices of Edward J. McKarski for a free consultation.