Criminal and civil laws
Negligence and recklessness, even though may differ in some aspects, are very much alike, when one considers the fact that both are liable to produce some harmful effects. It is the negligent actions of a car driver that are likely to cause a car accident, resulting in physical injuries to the people involved. It would be reckless driving on the part of the driver that is likely to result in him running people over. Both these issues have been widely discussed in various criminal law vs civil law debates, and various valid points have been raised on the differences between these two. Here are some details, regarding both these actions, which will help you in differentiating between negligence and recklessness.
Negligence resulting in civil lawsuit
In the case of civil negligence, a person has to breach a duty of care that is imposed upon him by the law. This breach of duty should also result in another person being injured physically or mentally, or suffering a financial loss. A plaintiff can prove that the negligent action of the defendant led to the accident, by proving the existence of four elements:
- The defendant was legally responsible for providing a specific standard of care.
- This duty of care was breached by the defendant.
- The injury suffered by the plaintiff was the direct result of this breach of duty by the defendant.
- Damages were suffered by the plaintiff.
Negligence resulting in criminal lawsuit
A negligent action is considered to be of criminal nature when the negligent action of a person leads him to breach a duty, which would entail him to exercise a reasonable amount of care. Consuming alcohol before driving a vehicle is one of the most common forms of this action.
Recklessness
In order to award punitive damages in most cases, the plaintiff must be able to prove that the actions of the defendant were reckless in nature. Punitive damages are monetary damages that are awarded on top of the compensatory damages in certain cases. Recklessness is a mental state a person finds himself in, where he may be tempted to do things that he might not have done under normal circumstances.
Criminal laws
When considering criminal law vs civil law, it is normal for people to get confused between recklessness and negligence. Therefore, it is important to understand the differences between these two acts.