Negligence is the basis for many personal injury cases, including car accidents and slip and fall accidents. If a party negligently causes your injury, you could be entitled to compensation for your damages. However, proving negligence can be challenging. In addition to ordinary negligence, your case could involve gross negligence. Our Chicago personal injury attorney discusses how gross negligence can be a factor in your personal injury case and how it could increase your compensation.
What Is Ordinary Negligence vs. Gross Negligence?
Ordinary negligence is the failure to use the same level of care that a reasonably prudent person would have used in the same situation. A person can be negligent by failing to act (omissions) and through their actions. The level of care varies depending on the circumstances and facts of the case. Proving negligence requires you to have evidence showing:
- The person who injured you owed you a legal duty of care
- The person breached the duty of care
- The breach of duty was the direct and proximate cause of your injury
- You sustained injuries and incurred damages because of the breach of duty
Negligence is based on what a reasonable person would do. However, gross negligence involves an extreme lack of care. It involves a willful, wanton, and reckless disregard for the safety of others. The person’s actions are conscious and intentional without the slightest regard that their actions could harm another person. The evidence must prove that the person acted intentionally or with reckless indifference to establish gross negligence.
Gross Negligence Can Result in Additional Damages
A person who is negligent may be liable for compensatory damages. These damages include economic damages, such as medical bills, property damages, out-of-pocket expenses, and lost wages. It also includes non-economic damages to compensate the injured party for their pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and impairment.
However, gross negligence can result in punitive damages. Illinois allows punitive damages when a jury finds a defendant’s conduct was willful and wanton, intentional, or fraudulent. If the defendant acted with gross negligence, the jury can award an amount of money that punishes the defendant. Punitive damages also discourage the defendant and others from similar conduct.
Punitive damages are only awarded in a small number of personal injury cases. It can be difficult to prove a defendant acted with gross negligence. Examples of gross negligence could include, but are not limited to:
- A nursing home failed to feed and provide water to a resident for multiple days.
- A driver consumes a lot of alcohol at a bar and then drives home.
- Failing to warn people of toxic substances on your property when you know they will be on the property.
- A surgeon fails to check a patient’s chart and identification to ensure they operate on the correct patient.
- Speeding through a school zone.
- A business selling a product that it knows will cause harm to consumers.
A Chicago personal injury attorney can review your case to determine the types of damages you could receive, including whether the facts in your case could justify a demand for punitive damages.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Chicago Personal Injury Attorney
You deserve to be compensated for injuries and damages caused by a negligent party. However, proving negligence can be challenging. Our attorneys can help. Contact us now for a free case evaluation from an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney.