What is the definition of negligence in law?

Negligence is typically associated with carelessness, but the term also has a more precise legal definition. It is the failure on the part of a tortfeasor — someone who has committed a tort, or civil wrong — to exercise a reasonable amount of care, which in turn has caused a foreseeable injury to another person or that person’s property.

In order for a plaintiff to establish negligence in a personal injury case, all four of the following elements must be proven to exist: the tortfeasor had a duty of care toward the injured party; there was a breach of the duty by the tortfeasor; there was a causation of injury to the victim; and there were damages, or actual harm, suffered by the victim.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

• After a car accident, what type of medical care should I seek?
• Am I allowed to choose my own doctors for my workplace injury?
• Am I eligible for workers’ compensation if I am hurt while working from home?
• Am I entitled to any death benefits if my spouse or parent dies due to a work-related injury or illness?
• Are employers required to provide drinking water to employees?
• Are longshore workers covered by New Jersey’s workers’ compensation law?
• Are minors injured in a work-related accident eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits in New Jersey?
• Are part-time or seasonal workers covered by workers’ compensation?
• Are personal injury settlements taxable?
• Are remote employees eligible for worker’s compensation in New Jersey if they are injured during work hours?
• At the time I am hired, what information should I be told regarding workers’ compensation?
• Can a judge increase the damages awarded by a jury in a lawsuit?
• Can a person who has been found not guilty in a murder trial still be sued for wrongful death?
• Can a workers’ compensation judge in New Jersey require an employer to reimburse an injured worker for medical marijuana used to control chronic pain?
• Can an employee recover workers’ compensation for an idiopathic injury?
• Can an employer commit workers’ compensation fraud?
• Can an employer fire an employee for making a workers’ compensation claim?
• Can an employer stop paying for pain medication I take for my work injury?
• Can an employer’s intentional violation of a federal safety rule impact a workers’ compensation claim?
• Can an I recover workers’ compensation in New Jersey if my work causes post-traumatic stress disorder?
• Can an undocumented immigrant receive workers’ compensation benefits in New Jersey?
• Can I be fired while I am on worker’s compensation?
• Can I choose my own doctors for my workers’ compensation claim in New Jersey?
• Can I file a lawsuit against a coworker whose negligence caused my work injury?
• Can I file a lawsuit for my workplace injury?
• Can I file for workers’ compensation and then sue my employer based on injuries I sustained at work?
• Can I get workers’ compensation when a co-worker assaults me?
• Can I get workers’ compensation for COVID?
• Can I handle my own workers’ compensation claim?
• Can I Obtain Workers’ Compensation Benefits Through My Full-Time Employer if I Was Injured at My Part-Time Job?
• Can I receive workers’ compensation for a gradual injury?
• Can I recover workers’ compensation benefits if I am injured after I am fired but before I leave the work facility?
• Can I recover workers’ compensation for my hearing loss?
• Can I recover workers’ compensation if I suffer a heart attack at work?
• Can I see my own doctor for a workers’ compensation claim?
• Can I settle a workers’ compensation case?
• Can I sue a job placement agency’s client if I am injured while working for the client?
• Can I sue my employer?
• Can insurance companies use my posts on social media against me in my personal injury lawsuit?
• Can my employer cut off my temporary disability benefits because I am working a part-time job?
• Can my employer fire me for filing a worker’s compensation claim?
• Can my employer terminate my employment while I am out of work due to an injury and receiving workers’ compensation?
• Can workers receive workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured while taking a coffee break?
• Can you sue if your Lyft crashes?
• Can you sue if your Uber crashes?
• Do commercial vehicle drivers have to meet higher standards before they are licensed to drive?
• Do I have any options if I do not like the workers’ compensation doctor my employer selected?
• Do I have to accept my employer’s offer of light duty following my work injury?
• Do I still get paid if I get injured at work?
• Does an employee’s intoxication at the time of an injury bar their recovery of workers’ compensation in New Jersey?
• Does workers’ compensation cover allergic reactions?
• Does workers’ compensation cover scars from work-related injuries?
• Does workers’ compensation cover travel to and from work?
• Following a motor vehicle accident, when and how can I obtain my personal belongings from the vehicle?
• Following my work injury, is my New Jersey employer required to pay for my transportation expenses to and from my doctor?
• How are workers’ compensation benefits calculated for temporary disability in New Jersey?
• How can I recover lost earnings?
• How can one prove fault in a premises liability case?
• How can workers’ compensation in New Jersey disqualify an employee who is at fault for a work-related accident?
• How do I file for workers compensation in New Jersey?
• How do workers’ compensation benefits work if I have two jobs?
• How does the judge decide the quantity of funds that a plaintiff is to receive?
• How Long Do I Have to Bring a Slip and Fall Case in New Jersey?
• How Long Do I Have to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
• How long do I have to report a work injury?
• How long do I have to report a work-related injury in New Jersey?
• How long do I have to wait before I receive benefits from my employer or their insurance carrier?
• How long do I have to work for an employer before I can receive workers’ compensation benefits?
• How long does it take to resolve a workers’ compensation case?
• How long will my personal injury case take?
• How many fatal workplace injuries occur every year in the United States?
• How much am I going to get?
• How much does a New Jersey workers’ compensation lawyer charge?
• How much does a workers’ compensation attorney cost in New Jersey?
• How much does Lyft pay for accidents?
• How much does Uber pay for accidents?
• How much time do I have to file a worker’s compensation claim in New Jersey?
• How much time do I have to file a workers’ compensation claim petition?
• How much workers’ compensation do I get for a foot injury in New Jersey?
• How much workers’ compensation do I get for a hand or finger injury in New Jersey?
• How serious is the problem of distracted driving in the United States?
• How will my medical expenses be paid while I am receiving treatment for an injury that occurred at work?
• I am out of work due to an injury on the job site. Can I be fired because of that injury?
• I am receiving payment for injuries from a third party. Can I also receive New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits?
• I was injured at work in New Jersey, but I don’t think my employer reported the accident to the insurance carrier. What do I do?
• I was injured at work, but it wasn’t my employer’s fault, can I still get workers’ compensation benefits?
• I was injured at work. I also have two different jobs. One is full-time and the other is part-time. Can I receive workers’ compensation for both of my jobs?
• I was injured in a car accident, and the other motorist was without insurance. How can I recover damages?
• I was involved in a motor vehicle accident, and I do not think that it was entirely my fault. Will this affect the amount of damages I receive?
• I was recently involved in a truck accident. What should I do?
• I work in New Jersey and was hurt on the job recently. How do I file a workers’ compensation claim?
• If a person has witnessed the injury of another individual may the former sue the party who caused the injury for negligent infliction of emotional distress?
• If a person is injured when struck by a commercial vehicle, is he or she allowed to sue the driver’s employer as well as the driver?
• If a person suffers a slip-and-fall injury on government property will the government be found liable?
• If I am injured at work, can I sue my employer, and still receive workers’ compensation benefits?
• If I get hurt while performing my part-time job, can I get more benefits if I am unable to perform full-time work because of my injury?
• If I have a new employer, and I suffered an injury at my previous job, may I still file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits?
• If I suffer an injury while at home recovering from a work injury, may I recover workers’ compensation for the second injury?
• If I suffer an injury while receiving treatment for an on-the-job injury, can I receive workers’ compensation for the new injury?
• If I’m injured at work, what kind of benefits can I receive?
• If my condition gets worse after I am awarded workers’ compensation, can I get more benefits?
• If my vehicle was damaged in a motor vehicle accident, how can I have it repaired?
• If negligence is proven in a personal injury case, can punitive damages be awarded?
• In a workers’ compensation claim, may I recover damages for pain and suffering?
• In New Jersey, can I appeal a workers’ compensation decision?
• In New Jersey, can I file a workers’ compensation claim and sue a third party in court for the same work-related accident?
• In New Jersey, can I file an informal claim and a formal claim for the same work-related illness?
• Is a full trial of my workers’ compensation case required?
• Is a homeowner’s association liable for injuries suffered by people who fall on the sidewalks that are owned and maintained by the community?
• Is an employee in Philadelphia who is injured while exercising during lunch entitled to workers’ compensation?
• Is horseplay a defense to a workers’ compensation claim?
• Is it advisable to accept a settlement offer from the insurance company?
• Is my employer supposed to post a notice about workers’ compensation at my workplace?
• May I file a lawsuit against a subcontractor if the subcontractor was directly responsible for causing my injury at work?
• May I visit any physician for a permanent disability?
• My employer says I do not have a right to workers’ compensation insurance. Do I have any recourses at my disposal?
• My employer’s physician says that I can return to work. However, my doctor disagrees. What should I do?
• My motor vehicle collided with a truck that was operated by a delivery person. May I file a lawsuit against the employer, the driver or both?
• My workers’ compensation doctor approved me for light-duty work, but my employer says it doesn’t have any light-duty work available. What should I do?
• What am I required to do if I am injured at work?
• What are my rights when I am hurt at work?
• What are some of the usual causes of truck accidents?
• What are the common types of work-related injuries and illnesses hospital workers sustain?
• What Are the Differences Between Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits and Wrongful Death Damages?
• What Are the Types of Workers’ Compensation Benefits Available to New Jersey Workers?
• What benefits do I receive while on worker’s compensation?
• What could cause my claim for workers’ compensation to be denied?
• What Damages Are Available in a New Jersey Worker’s Comp Lawsuit Stemming from a Truck?
• What death benefits does workers’ compensation provide?
• What do I do if I’m injured at a work-related function?
• What does “frolic in the course of employment” mean?
• What does workers’ compensation cover?
• What factors are considered to determine the amount of compensation to which I am entitled in a personal injury lawsuit?
• What happens if I am permanently partially disabled?
• What happens if I recover funds from a third party as a result of my work injury?
• What happens if I recover funds from a third party as a result of my work-related injury?
• What happens when you get in an accident with Uber?
• What happens with you get in an accident with Lyft?
• What if I can never return to work because of my injury?
• What if I had preexisting injury or illness at the time of my workplace accident?
• What if I recover compensation from a third party based on my workplace injury?
• What if my employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance?
• What is a compensable occupational disease under the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act?
• What is a detour in the course of employment?
• What Is a New Jersey Wrongful Death Claim?
• What is a permanent total disability?
• What is a retaliatory firing?
• What is a temporary total disability?
• What is a work-related accident?
• What is a workers’ compensation insurance?
• What is an employer under the workers’ compensation laws writing?
• What is an occupational disease?
• What is assumption of risk?
• What Is AWW and How is It Calculated in New Jersey?
• What is meant by the term “loss of consortium?”
• What is negligence per se?
• What is permanent partial disability?
• What is self-insurance?
• What is the definition of negligence in law?
• What is the difference between a grand jury and a petit jury?
• What is the difference between a personal injury claim and a personal injury lawsuit?
• What is the difference between a trial jury and a grand jury?
• What is the exception to the exclusive remedy provision of the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act?
• What is the law concerning New Jersey car insurance?
• What is the law concerning the use of helmets for motorcyclists?
• What is the legal definition of driving under the influence of alcohol?
• What is the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation?
• What is the odd-lot doctrine?
• What is the Second Injury Fund?
• What is the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury case?
• What is the statute of limitations to file a workers’ compensation claims?
• What is the statute of limitations, and how does it affect my personal injury case?
• What is the time frame to collect workers’ compensation benefits?
• What is the verbal threshold?
• What Is The Workers’ Compensation Subrogation in New Jersey?
• What is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and how can I protect my family?
• What is worker’s compensation self-insurance?
• What length of time do I need to be absent from work in order to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits?
• What length of time do I need to be unemployed in order to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits?
• What options are available to me if I do not like the physician to whom I was referred by my employer’s insurance carrier?
• What percentage of drivers are uninsured?
• What recourse do I have if my employer declines my request for workers’ compensation?
• What should a person who has been injured on the job do if his or her employer refuses to report the accident to the company’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier?
• What should I do if my employer will not report my workplace injury to their workers’ compensation insurance carrier?
• What type of benefits does a workers’ compensation claim provide?
• What were the most dangerous holidays for driving in?
• What will be the result if I need further treatment, and the Workers’ Compensation physician refuses to treat me?
• What will be the result of my workers’ compensation claim if I am permanently disabled?
• When does workers’ compensation end?
• When will my case settle?
• Where else can I look for income benefits after suffering an injury at work?
• While unable to work and collecting workers’ compensation benefits, my employer discontinued my healthcare coverage. Is this legal?
• Who decides which physicians I see for my workplace injury or occupational disease?
• Who determines the New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits I receive?
• Who qualifies for temporary total disability? 
• Will a full trial of my case be required?
• Will a prior knee injury I suffered years ago preclude me from recovering workers’ compensation if I reinjury my knee?
• Will I lose my job if I file a workers’ compensation claim?
• Will workers’ compensation cover my injury at a holiday party?