FINDLAW LEGAL DICTIONARY

negligence

negligence n

failure to exercise the degree of care expected of a person of ordinary prudence in like circumstances in protecting others from a foreseeable and unreasonable risk of harm in a particular situation
;also
: conduct that reflects this failure called also ordinary negligence simple negligence compare abuse, due care, intent NOTE: Negligence may render one civilly and sometimes criminally liable for resulting injuries.

collateral negligence
: negligence on the part of an independent contractor that is not connected with a manner of working or risk ordinarily associated with particular work and for which the employer of the contractor is not liable

com·par·a·tive negligence
[kəm-par-ə-tiv-]
1 a : negligence of one among multiple parties involved in an injury that is measured (as in percentages) according to the degree of its contribution to the injury [the comparative negligence of the plaintiff]
b : a doctrine, rule, or method of apportioning liability and damages in tort law: negligence and damages are determined by reference to the proportionate fault of the plaintiff and defendant with the negligence of the plaintiff not constituting an absolute bar to recovery from the defendant compare contributory negligence in this entry NOTE: The great majority of states have replaced the doctrine of contributory negligence with that of comparative negligence.
2 : an affirmative defense alleging comparative negligence by the plaintiff

contributory negligence
1 : negligence on the part of a plaintiff that contributed to the injury at issue
2 : a now largely abolished doctrine in tort law: negligence on the part of a plaintiff that contributed to the injury at issue will bar recovery from the defendant
;also
: an affirmative defense based on this doctrine

criminal negligence
: a gross deviation from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person that is manifest in a failure to protect others from a risk (as of death) deriving from one's conduct and that renders one criminally liable called also culpable negligence compare gross negligence in this entry

gross negligence
: negligence that is marked by conduct that presents an unreasonably high degree of risk to others and by a failure to exercise even the slightest care in protecting them from it and that is sometimes associated with conscious and willful indifference to their rights see also recklessness compare criminal negligence in this entry

negligence per se
[-pər-sā, -sē]
: negligence that consists of a violation of a statute esp. designed to protect the public safety NOTE: Recovery may be had on a theory of negligence per se when the harm resulting from the violation is the type that the statute is designed to prevent, the plaintiff is a member of the class of persons sought to be protected by the statute, and the violation is the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury.

ordinary negligence
: negligence

passive negligence
: failure to do something (as to discover a dangerous condition on one's property) that is not a breach of an affirmative duty and that in combination with another's act is a cause of injury

simple negligence
: negligence

slight negligence
: failure to exercise the great degree of care typical of an extraordinarily prudent person NOTE: The category of slight negligence is used much less frequently than ordinary negligence and gross negligence, the other members of a three-level classification that was formerly prevalent.

Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.