Ordinary Negligence vs. Gross Negligence Explained

In a personal injury case, negligence can be an action or inaction that results in injuries to another party. The degree of the defendant’s awareness is what separates ordinary negligence from gross negligence.

If you have been injured due to the negligence of another party, our Las Vegas personal injury attorneys at Cloward Trial Lawyers can provide compelling legal representation to support your claim.

Read on to understand the differences between ordinary negligence and gross negligence and how negligence could impact your case.

Ordinary Negligence

Ordinary negligence is the most common and easiest to prove the type of negligence. It refers to a person or company inadvertently breaching a duty of care. In ordinary negligence, the defendant unknowingly fails to exercise reasonable care or caution, resulting in injuries.

When a defendant commits ordinary negligence, they behave in a manner that allows others to become injured. This oversight is not intentional, but it is dangerous.

Gross Negligence

Gross negligence goes beyond ordinary carelessness and demonstrates a level of recklessness or even intention. In gross negligence, a defendant disregards others’ safety and understands that there is a potential risk of injury to others.

What separates gross negligence from ordinary is the level of awareness of the defendant. There is probable harm, the defendant is aware of that, and chooses to complete the action or inaction anyway.

Negligence in Personal Injury Cases

Navigating negligence in a personal injury incident can be a complex and contentious aspect of your case. In Nevada, there must be the following four elements of negligence to have a valid personal injury civil case.

1. The defendant owed you a duty of care.
2. The defendant breached their duty of care.
3. The duty of care breach caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
4. The plaintiff’s injuries resulted in damages, such as medical bills.

How To Prove Negligence

Defendants often dispute negligence to avoid accepting liability in a case. As the plaintiff, it is your burden to prove negligence in your personal injury case.

With witness statements, photographs, videos, police reports, medical documents, and more, our personal injury attorneys demonstrate the defendant’s negligence.

To prove negligence of any kind, you must have evidence for each of the four elements of negligence.

1. Evidence that there was a duty of care present, such as the plaintiff was on their property or the defendant was driving a vehicle.
2. Evidence that the defendant made a careless or reckless action or in action, such as leaving water on the floor without a sign or hitting the plaintiff with their vehicle.
3. Evidence that the plaintiff sustained injuries from this incident, such as medical records.
4. Evidence of damages from these injuries, such as medical bills and lost wages information.

Proving negligence can be an intricate legal matter that requires a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer to establish that all four elements of a claim have been met.

Consult with Our Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyers Today

Victims of negligence have a legal right to seek justice for injuries resulting from someone else’s careless actions. If you have been injured due to another person’s negligence, contact our reliable Las Vegas personal injury lawyers at 702-605-5000 to request a free consultation.