ACCIDENT OR NEGLIGENCE

Many people wrongly believe that it is possible to sue for negligence simply because an injury has been sustained - In order to claim there must be a sustainable allegation of negligence.

Here we attempt to highlight the legal distinction between an event that can be classified as an accident compared to one that occurs through a negligent act.

An Accident

An accident is an event that no one could have reasonably foreseen and for which no one can be held to blame. You cannot win a case against any individual or organisation if the incident was genuinely an accident

A Negligent Act

Until the 1930's negligence was poorly defined in law. Ever since Donoghue v Stevenson when a famous House of Lords decision was passed down, the legal definition has become much clearer.

"You must take care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour"

To put it another way - you will be deemed negligent if you do something or fail to do something which you can foresee will have an impact on others. People affected by your actions may have the right to sue in law.

In reality - the vast majority of compensation claims arising from acts of negligence are settled without the need to sue. Generally speaking, if you can establish negligence then you have an excellent chance in today's legal environment of settling your claim amicably without recourse to litigation