What are the four elements required to establish a negligence claim?

What are the four elements required to establish a negligence claim?

• A. Duty, Breach of Duty, Causation, and Damage or Injury
• B. Duty, Breach of Duty, Causation, and Damages
• C. Duty, Breach, Causation, and Damages
• D. Duty, Breach of Duty, Intent, and Damage

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is what must be proven to establish a negligence claim. You need four elements: a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to the harm, and damages showing that actual injury or loss occurred. Duty of care means there is a legal obligation to avoid unreasonable risk to others, such as a nurse–patient relationship that requires reasonable care. Breach happens when that duty isn’t met or standard of care is not followed. Causation requires the breach to be the actual cause of the injury—the harm wouldn’t have happened but for the breach. Damages require that some injury or loss occurred as a result of that breach, so there is a basis for compensation. The best phrasing among the options emphasizes the harm that must be proven: damage or injury. Some choices introduce intent, which is characteristic of intentional torts, not negligence, or use terms that can blur the distinction between the harm itself (damages) and the monetary remedy.

The idea being tested is what must be proven to establish a negligence claim. You need four elements: a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to the harm, and damages showing that actual injury or loss occurred.

Duty of care means there is a legal obligation to avoid unreasonable risk to others, such as a nurse–patient relationship that requires reasonable care. Breach happens when that duty isn’t met or standard of care is not followed. Causation requires the breach to be the actual cause of the injury—the harm wouldn’t have happened but for the breach. Damages require that some injury or loss occurred as a result of that breach, so there is a basis for compensation.

The best phrasing among the options emphasizes the harm that must be proven: damage or injury. Some choices introduce intent, which is characteristic of intentional torts, not negligence, or use terms that can blur the distinction between the harm itself (damages) and the monetary remedy.