Personal Injury Attorney

As an experienced personal injury attorney from Eric Roy Law Firm can explain, negligence by itself is the failure either intently or unintentionally to render a duty of care to someone or the breach of such a contract in a specific event that results in a form of “damage”. Damage consists of either physical, mental, financial, and in some instances by means of reputation as damage of reputation leads to the damaging of the former three aforementioned elements.

It’s the attribution and proving of negligence that makes the bread and butter of a personal injury case, but there’s a higher form of negligence called “gross negligence” that can take a case in a different direction. Gross negligence is a magnification of basic negligence in that misconduct is amplified by recklessness, willfulness, and unreasonable behavior that results in a more severe injury. Basic negligence implies that the aggressor has a level of conscience about them. Gross negligence implies carelessness.

Cases that involve gross negligence involve severe injuries and as a result garner significantly more compensation than your average personal injury case involving basic negligence. It’s important to be able to distinguish when gross negligence has occurred so the case can be handled in such a manner that you get the compensation that you deserve.

Cases where a waiver is signed

When waivers are signed, they waive their rights to claim negligence as they are making a statement that they are fully aware of the dangers that are presented in signing it. The case is different in the matter of gross negligence, as states do not enforce waivers in this case. If a woman takes her son to a trampoline gym and jumps around by himself and gets injured, you can’t sue in this case. You can sue if the son goes up to a gym representative and requests to decrease the slack in the trampoline for a “bouncier” experience resulting in injury and makes no attempt to render aid afterward resulting in even greater injury. Gross negligence implies carelessness and goes into acts that are almost criminal if not actually criminal and so the rules are adjusted in this case.

Cases without a waiver

Gross negligence can be claimed in any other case where the victim believes someone has acted unreasonably. The important thing in determining gross negligence is the existence of the elements of carelessness and injury exacerbation. Say for instance any kind of basic car collision will usually fall under your average negligence, but add drunk driving, distracted driving or anything that implies that the driver has chosen to care less about the safety of others for the sake of indulging themselves and an attorney can make a case for gross negligence instead.