Negligence is the legal term for carelessness. The law uses negligence as a test to determine whether a person involved in an accident is responsible for any loss or injury that occurs.
The law considers negligence the failure to act the way a reasonably careful person would act under the same or similar circumstances. But the law does not say what specific conduct is negligent. The decision is made by a judge or a jury after consideration of the circumstances of each case. In general, a person whose negligence harms or kills another person or damages that person’s property must pay compensation. Such compensation is known as damages.
If the injured person was partly responsible for the occurrence, that person’s carelessness is considered contributory negligence. In some cases, the contributory negligence prevents the injured person from being awarded compensation. In other cases, the judge or jury may compare the injured person’s contributory negligence to the fault of the others involved. The injured person’s compensation may then be reduced in proportion to his or her share of the blame.
English and American law do not regard negligence as a crime. But in cases where carelessness displays an extreme or willful disregard of the safety of others and results in a death, the negligent person may be charged with a crime called manslaughter or negligent homicide.
