Glossary
Negligence
Failing to use the care a reasonable person would use in the same situation, such as running a red light or texting while driving.
General information, not legal advice. Talk to a licensed attorney in your state.
Quick answer
Negligence is failing to use the care a reasonable person would use in the same situation, such as running a red light or texting while driving. Most car accident claims are negligence claims.
In a car accident claim#
To recover, the injured person generally has to prove four things:
- Duty. The other driver owed a Duty of care. The legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward others. Every driver owes it to everyone else on the road. Glossary. Every driver owes others a duty to drive with reasonable care.
- Breach. The driver fell short of that care, for example by speeding, following too closely or failing to yield.
- Causation. The breach actually caused the crash and the injuries, and the harm was a foreseeable result. Courts often split Causation. The link between someone's careless act and your injury. You must show the crash caused the harm you are claiming. Glossary into cause in fact and proximate cause.
- Damages. The injured person suffered real losses, such as medical bills, lost pay or pain.
Evidence usually comes from the police report, photos, video, witnesses and the vehicles themselves. Breaking a safety law can make the breach easier to prove under Negligence per se. Breaking a safety law, such as a traffic or trucking rule, that was meant to prevent the kind of harm that happened. In many states it proves negligence or strongly points to it. Glossary. If you were partly careless too, your state's fault rule decides how your share affects the claim; the fault-rule explainer shows each rule. Our guide to car accidents walks through the evidence.
Example#
Related terms#
Questions people ask
What are the four elements of negligence?
Duty, breach, causation and damages. Some sources list five, splitting causation into cause in fact and proximate cause. In a civil case, the injured person generally has to prove each one is more likely true than not.
Is negligence a crime?
Ordinary negligence is not a crime; it is the basis for a civil claim for money. The same careless driving can also break traffic or criminal laws, which are handled in a separate case.
Sources
- Cornell LII Wex, Negligence — definition, the reasonable person standard and the elements
- United States Courts, Glossary of legal terms — torts and the standard of proof in civil cases
Last reviewed October 29, 2026 by the Accident Claim Facts editorial team. Found an error? Tell us.
Keep reading
- GlossaryGlossaryShort, plain-English definitions of the legal and insurance terms that come up after a crash, each with an example, related terms and the sources behind it.
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- ToolFault-rule explainer: how your share of blame changes a claimSlide your share of the blame and choose a state to see whether its fault rule lets you recover, and what share of your proven damages you could still claim.
- GlossaryNon-economic damagesLosses without a price tag, such as pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.
- GlossaryNotice of claimA written notice that must be sent to a city, county or state agency before you can sue it, often within a few months.