Nearly all Buffalo personal injury lawsuits are based upon a claim that someone was “negligent” and, as a result, the person bringing the lawsuit was injured. While most people have an idea of what the term negligence means when applying it to their daily lives, there is a specific meaning that applies in personal injury cases.
In a personal injury case, a person is considered to have been negligent if his or her actions fell below what would be expected of a reasonably prudent person under the same circumstances. The specific negligent act could be anything, with common examples being poor driving or failing to keep a walkway clear of snow and ice.
When attempting to prove legal negligence, however, it is not enough just to prove that the party’s actions fell below those of a reasonably prudent person. It also must be proven that the party being sued had an obligation to act responsibly, did not fulfill that duty and, as a result, an injury occurred.
If the person being sued acted in a negligent manner but his or her negligence was not a cause of the other person’s injury, the injured party is not entitled to compensation from that person. For example, if a person is responsible for cleaning the floor and generally does a poor job, but the injured person slipped on something that had been dropped on the floor only moments before the fall, the person responsible for cleaning the floor may not be responsible for the injury because being more diligent in cleaning the floor would not have prevented the injury.
If you have suffered a personal injury, we can help you. Call us at 716-631-9999.
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