Since many of our cases involve negligence of one kind or another, it is necessary to define negligence. The Ohio Supreme Court defines negligence as follows: “Negligence is the failure to exercise that degree of care which an ordinarily careful and prudent person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances.” That has been the definition of negligence in Ohio (and probably all other states) for many years. And the courts have of course come up with different ways of expressing this concept.

“In order to establish actionable negligence, one must show the existence of a duty, a breach of the duty, and an injury resulting proximately therefrom.  The existence of a duty depends on the foreseeability of the injury.”  In other words, one only has a duty toward another if an injury is foreseeable.

For example, if you are approaching a red light and, while talking to a friend on your mobile phone, you run the red light, you are negligent.  People exercising ordinary care and prudence do not talk on mobile phones and run red lights.

Proximate cause is defined as follows: “Where an original act is wrongful or negligent and in a natural and continuous sequence produces a result which would not have taken place without the act, proximate cause is established.  One is thus liable for the natural and probable consequences of his/her negligent acts.”

For example, in our example above, if the driver on the mobile phone runs a red light and crashes into a car traveling lawfully through the intersection, the driver at fault is liable for all damages and injuries that flow directly from his/her negligence.

These same concepts apply to medical malpractice cases.  Physicians and other healthcare providers must exercise ordinary, reasonable care under the circumstances.  If they don’t, they are negligent, and they are liable for any injury caused by their negligence.

Jeff Beausay