Negligence

Negligence is a failure to exercise legally required care that causes harm to another. It is a central basis for civil liability in tort law.

Duty of care: A legal obligation to take reasonable steps to avoid foreseeable harm to others. Negligence requires a duty owed by the defendant to the person harmed.
Standard of care: The level of caution or competence the law requires in particular circumstances. It supplies the benchmark against which a defendant’s conduct is judged.
Intentional tort: A civil wrong committed through conduct intended to cause a particular consequence or contact. Unlike negligence, an intentional tort turns on purposeful conduct rather than a failure of care.
Medical malpractice: Professional negligence by a healthcare provider that causes patient harm. It applies negligence principles to medical duties and professional standards.
Tort law: The body of civil law governing wrongful conduct that causes harm and the remedies available for it. Negligence is one of tort law’s principal grounds for assigning civil responsibility.
Breach of duty: A failure to meet the standard of care required by law. A breach is the legally relevant failure to exercise required care.
But-for test: A causation test asking whether harm would have occurred without the defendant’s conduct. It connects a breach to harm by testing whether the harm depended on it.
Strict liability: Legal responsibility imposed without proof that the defendant acted carelessly or intended harm. It permits liability even when the defendant exercised reasonable care.
Professional negligence: A professional’s failure to meet the standard of care applicable to the profession. It addresses alleged carelessness by people whose work requires specialized skill.
Compensatory damages: Money awarded to address losses caused by a legally actionable wrong. They aim to repair losses established in a negligence claim.

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