Gainesville may be home to the Florida Gators. If you follow college football, you may even have tickets to a game. However, Gainesville is home to more than just a stellar football team. From Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park to the Harn Museum of Art, there’s pretty much something for everyone.
But what happens if you’re injured in an accident on public property like at the Gainesville Butterfly Rainforest? You start by establishing fault in a Gainesville Butterfly Rainforest accident claim. This also means understanding a little bit about the key elements of negligence. If you can’t show negligence, then proving fault goes out the window and so does your ability to file a personal injury claim.
So, what are the essential elements of negligence and how do you prove fault in an accident that occurs in a beloved attraction?
The Essential Elements of Negligence
Proving negligence and fault usually go hand-in-hand. Once you establish negligence, fault sort of falls into place. In other words, proving negligence also shows the defendant is at fault for the accident that caused your injuries and other damages.
Before you get too excited, meeting the elements of negligence is sometimes harder than it sounds. Thankfully, each of the four elements tends to build off of each other. So, once you can prove the first element, the second one builds off the first one, and so on. A good way to think of it is as links in a chain. Each link connects to the next one.
Duty of Care
Typically, proving someone owes you a duty of care is relatively easy. Just about everyone owes someone a duty of care. This essentially means to act in a way that doesn’t place others at risk.
So, if you’re injured in a slip-and-fall accident at the Butterfly Rainforest, the premises owner, manager, and/or staff may have breached their duty of care. A simple way of explaining this element is that everyone is expected to behave in a way that doesn’t place others at risk.
Breach of Duty
Okay, you’ve established you’re owed a duty of care. You’re either a guest or a ticket holder and legally on the premises. Now, you must show that the property owner, manager, and/or staff breached their duty of care.
Their duty of care to you includes ensuring the premises are free of all known hazards. Duty of care also applies to any hazards that they should know about. Yes, this gets a tad confusing. After all, how do you know if a hazard is really an accident or one that should be obvious? Sometimes, this is a question only your personal injury attorney can answer.
A breach of duty occurs when the defendant knowingly or willfully ignores a potential hazard that causes your accident and resulting damages. This can be anything from a loose railing, a spill on the floor, or missing sidewalk paving blocks. These are only a few examples of a breach of duty and it doesn’t cover every potentially hazardous situation.
Causation
You’re on to the third element of negligence and things get a little easier to prove from here. To prove this element of negligence, you must show that the defendant’s breach of duty is the direct cause of your accident.
Simply put, your accident wouldn’t have occurred but for the defendant’s actions or inactions. Here’s a quick example of causation in an injury claim. Your accident at the butterfly exhibit wouldn’t have occurred if it wasn’t for the spill, the employee left on the floor. If the employee had cleaned up the spill, you wouldn’t have slipped and fallen, breaking your ankle.
Damages
You’re almost finished establishing negligence. Only one more element to prove. This is also the easiest element to establish, so finally some good news about the claim process.
You must show that your damages like medical costs are directly caused by the accident. If the accident hadn’t occurred, you wouldn’t have injuries and other damages. Usually, gathering evidence like your medical records, bills, and receipts is enough to meet this final element of negligence.
Protecting Your Legal Rights in a Premises Liability Claim
Establishing negligence is often only part of filing a premises liability claim. You still need to list and calculate your various damages. Instead of trying to navigate the legal process by yourself, it usually helps to partner with an experienced Florida personal injury attorney. Your attorney can help ensure your legal rights are protected and you can recover fair compensation for your damages.
