When someone’s careless actions cause you harm, the law provides a path to seek compensation. Negligence is the legal principle that holds people accountable when their failure to use reasonable care results in injury to others. California law establishes clear standards for what constitutes negligence and how injured parties may recover damages.
What Is Negligence Under California Law?
The law establishes that everyone is responsible for injuries caused by their lack of ordinary care. It requires people to act as a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances.
Negligence occurs when someone fails to exercise the level of care that an ordinary person would use in the same situation. This failure may involve either doing something a prudent person would not do or failing to do something a prudent person would do. The concept applies to drivers, property owners, medical professionals, businesses, and any other person who owes a duty of care to others.
The Four Elements of a Negligence Claim
To succeed in a negligence case, you must prove four essential elements. Each element builds on the others, and all four must be established for a claim to succeed.
California courts require proof of the following elements in negligence cases:
- Duty of care, meaning the defendant had a legal obligation to act carefully toward you
- Breach of duty, meaning the defendant failed to meet the standard of care expected
- Causation, meaning the defendant’s breach directly caused your injuries
- Damages, meaning you suffered actual harm that can be compensated for
Understanding how these elements apply to your specific situation requires careful analysis of the facts and circumstances surrounding your injury.
Duty of Care
The first element requires showing that the defendant owed you a duty of care. Drivers must operate vehicles safely. Property owners must maintain safe premises for visitors. Doctors must provide competent medical treatment. Manufacturers must produce reasonably safe products.
The scope of duty depends on the parties’ relationship and the foreseeable risks involved. A store owner, for example, has a duty to warn customers about wet floors because slipping is a foreseeable risk. The duty extends to taking reasonable precautions to prevent harm that a careful person would anticipate.
Breach of Duty
Once duty is established, the next question is whether the defendant breached that duty. A breach occurs when a person’s conduct falls below what a reasonably prudent person would do in the same circumstances. Courts use the reasonable person standard to evaluate behavior.
Consider a driver who runs a red light. A reasonable driver would stop at red lights because doing so prevents accidents. Running the light breaches the duty of care that all drivers owe to others on the road. Similarly, a property owner who fails to repair a defective staircase breaches its duty to visitors.
Causation
Causation establishes a connection between the defendant’s breach and your injuries. The law requires both actual cause and proximate cause. Actual cause means your injury would not have occurred but for the defendant’s actions. Proximate cause means the injury was a foreseeable result of the defendant’s conduct.
This element often becomes the focus of disputes in negligence cases. Defendants frequently argue that something other than their conduct caused the plaintiff’s injuries. Strong evidence, including medical records, expert testimony, and accident reconstruction, helps establish the necessary connection between breach and harm.
Damages
The final element requires proof of actual damages. Without measurable harm, there is no negligence claim, even if the defendant acted carelessly. Damages in personal injury cases can be substantial and include multiple categories of loss.
Injured parties may recover compensation for the following types of damages:
- Medical expenses, including hospital bills, surgery costs, and ongoing treatment
- Lost wages from time away from work during recovery
- Reduced earning capacity if injuries affect your ability to work in the future
- Pain and suffering caused by the injury and its effects on daily life
- Property damage if your belongings were harmed in the incident
Documenting these losses thoroughly strengthens your claim and helps ensure you receive full compensation for all the ways the injury has affected your life.
California’s Pure Comparative Negligence Rule
California follows the pure comparative negligence rule, which affects how damages are calculated when multiple parties share fault. Under this system, you can recover compensation even if you were partially responsible for the accident. Your percentage of fault simply reduces your recovery.
For example, if a jury finds you were 30 percent at fault and awards $100,000 in damages, you would receive $70,000, unlike states that bar recovery when plaintiffs are more than 50 percent at fault. California allows recovery even if you bear most of the responsibility. This rule recognizes that accidents often involve shared responsibility.
Statute of Limitations for Negligence Claims
California law sets deadlines for filing negligence lawsuits. The general statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of injury. Missing this deadline typically bars your right to sue, regardless of how strong your case might be.
Contact Robles Babaee, Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Negligence claims under California law are built on clear legal principles, but successfully applying those principles to a real-world injury can be complex. Proving duty, breach, causation, and damages requires careful evaluation of evidence, deadlines, and how comparative fault may affect your recovery.
If you were injured because someone failed to act with reasonable care, speaking with an experienced personal injury attorney can help you navigate the legal process, preserve critical evidence, and work toward the financial recovery you deserve. Contact Robles Babaee, Personal Injury Lawyers today at (714) 263-3700 for a free consultation.
