If you’ve been hurt in an accident in Missouri, proving the other party’s fault is important to your personal injury case. One of the key legal concepts you must understand is breach of duty. This means showing that the other person or party failed to act responsibly, leading to your injury.
What Is Breach of Duty?
In personal injury cases, breach of duty happens when someone fails to meet their legal responsibility to act in a safe and reasonable manner. Everyone has a duty of care, which means they are expected to behave in a way that prevents harm to others. When someone doesn’t follow this duty, they are said to have breached it.
For example:
- A driver has a duty to follow traffic laws and drive safely. If they speed or text while driving, they are breaching their duty.
- A store owner must make sure their property is safe for visitors. They have breached their duty if they don’t clean up a spill and someone slips.
Breach of duty is one of the key elements you must prove in a personal injury case.
The Elements of Negligence
To win a personal injury case, you must show that the other party was negligent. This involves proving four key elements:
- Duty of Care: The defendant had a legal obligation to act in a safe and reasonable way.
- Breach of Duty: The defendant failed to meet this obligation by acting carelessly or recklessly.
- Causation: The defendant’s actions directly caused your injury.
- Damages: You suffered harm, such as physical injuries, medical bills, or lost wages.
Breach of duty is the second element in this process and is critical to proving negligence.
Examples of Breach of Duty
Breach of duty can happen in many ways, depending on the situation. Here are some common examples:
- Car Accidents: A driver runs a red light, speeds, or drives while distracted, causing a crash.
- Slip and Fall Accidents: A business owner fails to fix a dangerous condition, like a broken stair or a wet floor.
- Medical Malpractice: A doctor makes an avoidable mistake during surgery or fails to diagnose a serious condition.
- Product Liability: A company sells a defective product that causes harm to consumers.
In each of these examples, the responsible party did not meet their duty of care, leading to someone else’s injury.
How Do You Prove a Breach of Duty?
Proving a breach of duty requires strong evidence to show that the defendant acted carelessly or failed to act when they should have. Here are some common types of evidence used in personal injury cases:
- Witness testimony
- Photos and videos
- Expert opinions
- Police reports
- Maintenance records
Strong evidence is essential to showing that the defendant breached their duty of care.
Why Is Breach of Duty Important?
Breach of duty is critical to a personal injury case because it establishes fault. It’s impossible to hold the other party responsible for your injuries without proving a breach of duty. Even if someone acted negligently, they cannot be held accountable unless you can show they failed to meet their duty of care.
In court, breach of duty answers important questions, such as:
- What should the defendant have done differently?
- How did their actions create a dangerous situation?
- Why should they be responsible for paying damages?
Establishing a breach of duty helps show that the defendant failed to meet basic standards of care, making them accountable for the harm they caused.
Challenges to Proving Breach of Duty
Proving a breach of duty is not always simple. The defendant’s legal team or insurance company may argue that:
- They Acted Reasonably: They might claim that their actions were not careless or reckless.
- Someone Else Is to Blame: They may try to shift responsibility to another party.
- The Conditions Were Out of Their Control: For example, they might argue that weather or other factors caused the accident.
An experienced personal injury lawyer knows how to counter these arguments and build a strong case.
Contact Eason Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you’ve been injured in an accident, proving breach of duty is essential to your case. At Eason Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers, our personal Injury Lawyers in St. Louis can help you gather the evidence needed to show negligence and build a strong claim. Call us now at (314) 932-1066 to schedule a free consultation.