Question 1. What are the elements of a negligence cause of action?
"The elements of a cause of action for negligence are 1) legal duty to use due care; 2) a breach of that duty, 3) a reasonably close casual connection between that breach and the plaintiff's resulting injury, and actual lost or damage to the plaintiff." (Mathews and Lancaster, 1981).
Question 2. Describe each one and give an example.
Due Care is classified as an individual or business owners responsibility to foresee potential danger and acts in accordance with all practicality, laws, regulations etc. to prevent injury to innocent bystanders and/or patrons. Example: A restaurant owner instructs an employee to mop the floor (note: if floors are wet and a patron slips and falls the organization would be liable for all damages if the patron was unaware that the floor was wet), due care is exercised when the owner/manager insists that the worker puts cones around the mopped area that states that the floor is wet to inform patrons to use caution when walking in or around the mopped area.
Breach of Duty-Duty is considered breached if the individual knowingly exposes one to be harmed knowing the consequences. "A defendant who did not realize he was exposing another to harm, but should have recognized the probability that any reasonable person would have recognized has breached his duty as well." (Shestokas, 2009). Example: A medical facility that does not take the necessary precautions to ensure the patient's safety. For instance, the Endoscopic center in Nevada came under scrutiny for nurses and MA's (medical assistants) reusing disposable needles on patients which resulted in infecting patients with Hepatitis C. The organization knows that reusing needles on a plethora of patients is wrong and hazardous therefore they neglected their obligations as healthcare professionals and have since then closed their practice.
Injury to Plaintiff- "When a person is injured through the negligence of someone else, the injured person often has an obligation to take reasonable steps to minimize the effects and loss related to his or her injuries. For example, this obligation includes seeking other employment and/or retraining if the person's usual line of work is no longer feasible. A defendant in a personal injury case will often try to reduce the amount of damages the plaintiff may recover by showing that the plaintiff failed to take reasonable steps to reduce his or her loss following the injury." (Findlaw, 2010).
Actual Cause is when an individual or organization neglects to comply with applicable laws in order to run a business and causes potential harm to patrons. For example, several years ago, McDonalds was sued from an individuals that claimed their coffee was served to her extremely hot. The coffee was so hot that the plaintiff actually burned her lips. As a result of the plaintiff incurring harm resulting in actual damage, his/her situation would be classified as an Actual Cause of Negligence.