Negligence are the ways that falls below the standards of actions recognized by law for the safety of others against unreasonable risk of harm. He or she has acted negligently if departed from the conduct expected of a convincingly prudent person acting under related conditions. It is the value or condition of being negligent, need of due diligence or care, act or example of negligence or carelessness (Owen, 2007).
Forms of Negligence
Contributory Negligence
Contributory negligence does not permit the person to present the lawsuit to recover if it is certain that they were accountable for the accident in any manner. Thus, if the judge or jury makes a decision that the person who is presenting the complaint is fault in any way (even a 1% fault) for causing his own injuries; the person presenting the complaint may not recover any damages.
Pure Comparative Negligence
In a pure comparative negligence system, the judge or jury has to decide how much fault each party is accountable for, and then apportions the level of damages respectively. For instance, if a person is found to be 20 percent at fault for causing his or her own injuries, then the other party or parties accountable will only have to give 80 percent of the plaintiff's damages.
Modified Comparative Fault
There are also states that apply a modified relative fault system. It's similar in a method to a pure relative negligence system, as a judge or jury decides how much fault should be allocated to each person accountable for an accident and allocate the quantity of damages respectively (Wright, 2003).
Degrees of Negligence
Degrees of negligence are the levels or grade of negligence into which it has been divided by statutes and judicial decisions, ranging from minor negligence to that which is gross, willful, or wanton.