What Is Recklessness? Legal Definition & Examples

If you are hurt in an accident where you are not at fault, you can sue the responsible party for damages. Generally, a claimant in a personal injury case must prove negligence on the other party's part to have them be held liable by the court. 

There are situations where the other person's conduct may go above the threshold of negligence and can be said to be acting negligently.

What Is Negligence?

To understand recklessness, it is best to first understand negligence. The legal definition of negligence is the failure to exercise care towards other persons in a way any reasonable person would under the same circumstances and is the basic standard for proving liability.

Negligence doesn't always have to be an action; it can also be inaction. For example, if a doctor fails to conduct certain tests that would have resulted in the timely diagnosis of a certain type of illness, they can be considered negligent.

Negligence has four basic elements; duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and harm. The duty of care refers to the care expected from one person by another. For example, a driver is expected to operate a vehicle in a manner that does not endanger other road users. If the driver's behavior falls short of their duty of care, they will be in breach of duty. 

“A breach of duty is not sufficient proof of negligence. The claimant must show that the breach caused an accident satisfying the causation element of negligence and that the accident resulted in harm,” says Michael Foster.

What Is Recklessness?

When the actions or inactions of the other person exceed the negligence threshold, they can be defined as reckless. Recklessness refers to conduct that is in blatant disregard for the safety of other people. While not on the same level as willful conduct, the person engaging in reckless conduct is usually aware of the dangers of their conduct but still engages in it anyway.

A good example of recklessness is when a person that had a day or an evening of drinking gets behind the wheel. Every driver knows that alcohol and driving do not go together. So, to drink and then get behind the wheel is a display of blatant disregard for the safety of other road users. 

Other forms of reckless conduct on the road include drag racing, texting while driving, etc. It is also important to understand that recklessness applies to all accidents, including accidents resulting from a blatant failure to ensure the safety of people legally entering a property.

How Does Recklessness Affect Your Personal Injury Case?

Typically, victims of personal injuries will recover two main types of damages after a successful personal injury lawsuit; economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are all expenses that directly result from the accident, from property damage, medical expenses, and lost wages. 

Non-economic damages are the intangible impact of the accident, such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. Where recklessness is a factor, your lawyer can file for punitive damages. As the name suggests, punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant for their reckless conduct and a deterrent to others. 

Punitive damages do not apply to work-related injuries if you are seeking compensation through your employer's workers' compensation insurance. Even in cases where punitive damages are applicable, the threshold can be pretty high, which is why they are rarely awarded.