Running head: INTRODUCTION TO NEGLIGENCE 1

Introduction to Negligence

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INTRODUCTION TO NEGLIGENCE

The term negligence is derived from a Latin word “negligentia” which means failing to

pick up. Negligence is a failure to behave or exercise a level of care that reasonable individual

should have. In law, negligence is a breach of a legal duty of care by the plaintiff which

eventually results to undesired damage to the plaintiff. There is a specific legal way in which

each individual is expected to conduct themselves failure of which will term negligence. This

paper will discuss the main types of tort liability.

Tort fall into three general categories; negligence torts, strict liability and intentional

torts. Negligence torts occurs when the defendants’ actions were unreasonably unsafe. This

happens when an individual purposely engages in conduct that cause injury or damage to

another. For example; a janitor has the right to clean or mop the floor and after he or she has to

put wet surface caution so that people don’t slip however if he or she fails to put the caution sign

and someone’s slips and injures himself then a negligence tort case may be filed.

Strict liability. It is also referred as absolute liability. This is a tort case where a

responsibility or an injury can be placed or imposed to the wrong doer without the proof of

negligent65 or direct fault. The victims must only prove that they were hurt because of other

person’s action. Example is an animal attack (dog bite) or defective product (product liability).In

this case a defendant is liable for committing an action regardless of what his or her intent was or

mental state was when committing the act.

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INTRODUCTION TO NEGLIGENCE
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INTRODUCTION TO NEGLIGENCE