What is negligence in legal terms?

Negligence, in legal terms, refers to the failure to exercise reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another person. This definition captures the essence of negligence as a concept that primarily addresses unintentional harm. A person is considered negligent when they do not act as a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances, leading to a situation that causes harm to someone else.

The basis of negligence is often established in tort law and revolves around four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. The individual must have a duty of care to the injured party, they must breach that duty, this breach must be the actual and proximate cause of the injury, and the injured party must incur damages as a result. Therefore, identifying negligence involves looking at the behavior of the defendant and whether that behavior was consistent with the standard of care expected in their specific context.

The other choices reflect different legal concepts. Deliberate actions that cause harm pertain more to intentional torts rather than negligence. An unintentional breach of a contract addresses contract law rather than tort law. Lastly, ignoring laws and regulations relates to compliance or regulatory violations, which again falls outside the definition of negligence. Therefore, the accurate understanding of negligence as a failure to exercise