How ‘Foreseeability’ Effect A Personal Injury Case
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
Determining who was negligent and how that negligence directly caused an injury or damage is important in any personal injury case. However, being able to receive financial compensation for your injuries takes more than just proving that the other person was negligent in their actions or inaction. It is about whether your injuries were a foreseeable consequence of their negligence.In personal injury law, foreseeability is a key concept. More specifically, foreseeability is a crucial element of causation.
Causation and Foreseeability
In order for you to win your personal injury lawsuit, a plaintiff will need to prove that the defendant was negligent and that this negligence is what directly caused or worsened the plaintiff’s injuries. To put it another way, the defendant cannot be held liable for negligence unless it played a role in the plaintiff’s injury.
This is where foreseeability comes to play. In order for you to prove causation, that the defendant’s negligence caused the plaintiff’s injury, the plaintiff will be required to prove that the harm they suffered was, or should have been, reasonably foreseeable to the defendant at the time of the accident.
Foreseeability involves the defendant’s ability to predict the consequences of their negligent actions or inactions.
While the plaintiff is not required to prove that the defendant foresaw or should have foreseen the exact manner in which the plaintiff’s injury happened. However, the plaintiff will need to prove that their injuries are a natural and probable consequence of what the defendant’s negligence.
A Few Examples of Foreseeability in a Personal Injury Case
Whether someone could truly know the consequences of their actions can be subjective at times and difficult to judge.
For example, if someone was texting and driving and ended up rear ending another car, it is obvious to anyone that their negligence is what caused the accident. However, the situation isn’t always so clear cut when it comes to fault.
For example, if some elementary school students begin throwing rocks they found around the playground and one of the students gets injured, it’s hard to say whether the consequence was foreseeable. On one hand, the school has a responsibly to keep the playground rock free for the students and not doing so was negligent.
But can this negligence be considered a direct causation of the students throwing rocks?
This would be the responsibly of a jury to decide, but most likely the answer would be yes. After all, young children are known to pick up things off the ground and throw them all the time. This makes it foreseeable that a child would end up throwing and getting injured by the rocks around the playground.
One last example, let’s say that a driver goes off the road and ends up hitting a utility pole that was located 60 feet off the shoulder and gets injured as a result. The driver then goes to sue the electric company for placing a pole in a negligent manner. While the electric company does have a responsibility to place their utility poles in a relatively safe manner, was this accident truly foreseeable? After all, 60 feet is a considerate distance away from the road. Additionally, many cities have their utility poles placed less than 60 feet from the road.
If you have been injured due to the foreseeable negligence of someone else, don’t hesitate to obtain the legal help you deserve.
The lawyers at All Injuries Law have the experience and expertise you need to get the financial compensation you are entitled to. We understand how frustrating and upsetting it can be to have medical bills piling up after an accident. That’s why we are committed to getting you the financial help you need to recover properly.
Contact us today for a free consultation and to learn more about what we can do for you!