The issue of negligence is a vital aspect of personal injury cases in the UK — it must be proven to establish an airtight claim. Whether it’s an employer’s disregard of their duty of care or a fellow employee’s carelessness, negligence can be present in all walks of life. But what is negligence? In this helpful guide, we’ll explore what it is, how to prove another party has been negligent and what it means to seek compensation.
What is negligence?
Pivotal in personal injury cases like road traffic accidents, workplace accidents or faulty products and equipment claims, negligence is when a person or persons fail to act with responsible care — with the potential to cause harm or loss of another as a result. It can either happen because of action or inaction:
- Action — This could be a driver ignoring a red light and causing a crash.
- Inaction — This could be an employer failing to fix a faulty tool and causing an injury.
Types of negligence
Negligence can manifest in four key forms. This all depends on how severe the negligence is and the circumstances surrounding the instance. Here are all four types:
| Type of negligence | Description | Example |
| Ordinary negligence | This is when a person fails to act as a responsible person would. | This might be a driver forgetting to indicate and causing a crash. |
| Gross negligence | This is when a person acts with blatant disregard for others’ safety. | This might be leaving exposed wires in a public place. |
| Professional negligence | This is when a person fails to meet the standards expected by a profession. | This might be a doctor misdiagnosing a patient due to lack of diligence. |
| Contributory negligence | This is when an injured person’s actions have contributed to their harm. | This might be a pedestrian crossing the road without looking left and right. |
Proving negligence
When you bring a case to Express Solicitors, we’ll always look for how we can prove negligence first. To do this, we follow these essential steps:
- Establishing a duty of care — We’ll have to figure out whether or not there was another person at fault and whether or not you were their responsibility.
- Establishing a breach of duty — We’ll then look at this duty of care and see if the responsible party actually broke this duty.
- Establishing a link to harm — Once we’ve established a breach, we’ll see about linking this to the harm caused to you.
- Establishing foreseeability — If the breach of duty has been linked to your injury, we’ll then look for if the harm caused to you was foreseeable or not.
When putting together a case, you could save time by using this helpful checklist to prove negligence:
| Condition | Yes | No |
| There was a duty of care. |
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| There was a breach in the duty of care. |
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| The breach caused harm or loss. |
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| The harm or loss was foreseeable beforehand. |
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Negligence and compensation claims
Sadly, negligence is fairly common in the UK — even if it isn’t intentional. If the worst has happened and you’ve suffered as a result of another party’s negligence, you could be entitled to compensation. Whether you’re seeking compensation to cover the cost of treatment, rehabilitation or emotional distress caused, you can see what kind of general damages you may be entitled to by using our handy compensation calculator.
How Express Solicitors can help you
At Express Solicitors, we’ve supported numerous clients in receiving compensation for all manner of injuries that have resulted from the negligence of other parties. Our no win, no fee promise ensures you can pursue justice with minimal financial risk — generally, if your claim isn’t successful, you won’t pay a penny.
Even better, our “Excellent” rating on Trustpilot and our accreditation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) shows just how committed we are to professional integrity and making our clients happy.
Ready to take the next step? Get in touch and we can discuss your case in a secure and confidential way.