Negligence Resulting in Injury: Case Examples

Negligence serves as the basis of liability for the majority of personal injury lawsuits. Negligence occurs when an individual owes another a duty of care but either acts carelessly, or fails to act, and ultimately causes the other person to get hurt. The duty of care is an important element of every negligence case; it refers to the responsibility that individuals have to act in a reasonable manner that protects the safety of others. If someone breaches their duty of care and injures someone else, that would qualify as negligence, and the injured person then has the option of bringing a personal injury lawsuit against the individual for the careless action, or lack of action.

Negligence lawsuit cases can arise out of several different professions, industries, and circumstances. Below are some of the most common areas that lead to negligence claims, along with specific negligence cases examples.

Examples of Negligence in Motor Vehicle Accidents

Car accidents are among the most common events that result in personal injury lawsuits. Operators of motor vehicles have a duty to exercise reasonable care while driving, follow the rules of the road, and avoid hurting pedestrians, bikers, and other drivers. Negligence arises if they fail to do so and ultimately cause an accident that results in injuries to another. Some common negligence case examples under this category include, but are not limited to, the following scenarios:

• A driver runs a stop sign and slams into another car
• A driver operates illegally in the bicycle lane and hits a bicyclist
• A driver runs a red light and hits a pedestrian in a crosswalk
• A driver exceeds the speed limit and rear ends another vehicle
• A driver makes an unsafe lane change and slams into a motorcyclist
• A driver makes an abrupt lane change and smashes into the passenger side of another car
• A driver impaired by drugs and/or alcohol crashes into a pedestrian walking on a sidewalk
• A driver distracted from the road hits another car
• A driver fails to yield a right of way and T-bones another vehicle
• A driver makes an illegal U-turn and crashes into a motorcyclist

These are just a few examples of car (or bus or truck) accident cases that could result from negligence. There are a variety of others that could occur if a negligent driver breaches their duty of care towards others on the road.

Examples of Negligence in Premises Liability

Negligence lawsuit cases can also arise out of premises liability claims. Individuals have a right to be safe from harm when they are lawfully on another person’s property. This includes settings such as stores, schools, parks, office buildings, shopping malls, grocery stores, and hotels, among many others. An injured person may file a lawsuit under this category if they become injured on another’s property due to negligence in the management of the premises or as a result of an unsafe or defective condition present at the property. Some negligence case examples involving premises liability include, but are not limited to, the following hypotheticals:

• A hotel patron sustains injuries due to a ceiling collapse in their room
• A worker gets injured in an elevator shaft fall
• A shopper slips and falls on wet flooring at a grocery store after the owner fails to put up a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign after cleaning up a spill
• A diner slips and falls on spilled food on a restaurant floor
• A pedestrian trips and falls on an uneven sidewalk
• A shopper slips and falls on ice in a shopping mall parking lot
• A person trips and falls due to poor lighting in a grocery store parking lot
• A pedestrian gets injured in a construction zone that was not properly blocked off from the public
• A tenant trips and falls going up a broken, poorly maintained stairwell in her apartment building

If you have been injured on someone else’s property and believe your accident is a result of negligence, you may have a legal right to compensation for your injuries. Contact a premises liability lawyer today to discuss your case.

Examples of Negligence in Construction Accidents

Dangerous hazards at construction sites create a heightened accident risk. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), construction is among the most dangerous work sectors; construction workers are exposed to a variety of serious hazards on the job. Negligence at construction sites can lead to a number of different accidents, which include, but are not limited to, falling object accidents, falls, electrocution, caught in-between accidents, defective ladder accidents, crane accidents, demolition accidents, and elevator accidents. The following are some specific negligence cases examples within the construction sector:

• A construction worker sustains serious injuries after getting hit on the head by a heavy, falling object
• A laborer is fatally injured after using a defective saw
• A pedestrian is seriously injured after getting struck by flying debris from a demolition site
• A carpenter incurs head injuries after falling from a scaffold
• An electrician sustains back and leg injuries after falling from an unsecure ladder
• A worker suffers spinal injuries after falling from a roof
• An elevator erector is injured during the course of a hotel renovation project
• A pedestrian incurs injuries after being struck by a falling brick from a construction site

The construction accident attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy have handled numerous construction accident cases resulting from negligence over the years. One of these cases was a $110,174,972 result for a 23-year-old cyclist who was tragically paralyzed from the waist down after he was struck by a railroad tie that was dropped from overhead subway tracks where construction work was occurring. The cyclist was told that it was safe for him to ride under the tracks, but when he did so, he was struck and severely injured by the falling railroad tie. There was clear negligence regarding this case: the workers had a duty to ensure the work site and area surrounding it was safe. The worker who told our client that he could ride through was negligent in not checking that the area was safe before giving our client permission to ride. Additionally, the workers who dropped the railroad tie to the street below were negligent in not confirming that the drop zone was clear before they dropped the object. Our client’s life was forever changed as a result of the accident caused by this negligence.

Examples of Negligence in Wrongful Death Cases

When a person dies as a result of another’s negligence, family members of the deceased individual may commence a wrongful death lawsuit against the person whose negligent actions or inactions caused the death. Notably, car accidents cause the most wrongful death claims due to the large amount of drivers each day and the frequency at which people drive. The following are some negligence case examples that may warrant filing a wrongful death lawsuit:

• A passenger in one vehicle is killed in a collision with another vehicle
• A pedestrian is struck and killed by a bus while walking within a crosswalk
• A motorcyclist is run off the road and dies after a driver fails to use turn signals and fails to safely merge into the motorcyclist’s lane
• A worker falls down an elevator shaft and dies after the elevator malfunctions because proper safety precautions were not taken at his work site
• A woman hits her head on the ground and dies after falling on uneven flooring at a store

Negligence Cases: Results Matter

If you have been injured in an accident that resulted from another party’s negligence, you may be unsure what to do next. Consider contacting a lawyer skilled in handling negligence cases to discuss your situation. The expert personal injury attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy have extensive experience handling negligence lawsuits and have achieved impressive settlements and verdicts for all the aforementioned categories of negligence cases. Notable results that attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy have obtained for clients include:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

• Record-breaking $32,756,156 verdict for a Vietnam veteran who suffered life-threatening injuries to his head after getting struck by an impaired driver
• $22,500,000 settlement for a driver severely injured in a head-on collision with another driver who drifted into the wrong lane

Premises Liability

• $9,000,000 settlement for a 14-year-old boy injured by a wall collapse at Nassau County shopping center
• $7,000,000 settlement for a worker who fell 30 feet down an elevator shaft after his back touched the elevator doors

Construction Site

• $110,174,972 verdict, New York’s biggest non-medical malpractice verdict, for a cyclist who suffered severe injuries after getting hit by a falling object from a subway track replacement project
• $11,500,000 settlement for a construction worker severely hurt due to a defective saw

Wrongful Death

• $15,000,000 settlement for the wife and children of an HVAC technician who was fatally crushed by a falling object at the hospital where he was working
• $10,500,000 settlement for the wife and children of a union laborer fatally struck in the neck with a defective saw

For expert legal assistance with personal injury lawsuits arising from negligence, contact the skilled and experienced personal injury attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy. Call 212-736-5300 or complete an online contact form to receive your free legal consultation.