Negligence Lawyer Los Angeles | General Negligence Claims

If you need a negligence lawyer in Los Angeles, Mesriani Law Group is here to help. Negligence is the legal foundation of most personal injury claims in California. When someone fails to exercise reasonable care and that failure causes harm to another person, the law holds them accountable.

Understanding how negligence works — what must be proven, how fault is allocated, and what defenses may be raised — is essential to understanding whether you have a claim and how strong it is. At Mesriani Law Group, our Los Angeles negligence attorneys have over 30 years of experience proving negligence across every type of personal injury case and recovering maximum compensation for our clients.

What Is Negligence Under California Law?

Negligence occurs when a person or entity fails to exercise the degree of care that a reasonable person would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances, and that failure causes injury or harm to another person.

The “reasonable person standard” is the central benchmark of negligence law. Courts ask: what would a reasonably prudent person have done in the same situation? If the defendant’s conduct fell below that standard and caused harm, they may be found negligent and liable for damages.

Negligence is not limited to reckless or intentional conduct. A momentary lapse of attention, a failure to maintain safe property, or an inadequate response to a known hazard can all constitute negligence if a reasonable person in that position would have acted differently.

The Four Elements of a Negligence Claim in California

To win a negligence lawsuit in California, a plaintiff must prove all four of the following elements. For a deep dive, see our guide on the 4 elements of general negligence in California:

1. Duty of Care

The defendant had a legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward the plaintiff. Duty of care can arise from many sources:

• Drivers have a duty to operate their vehicles safely and follow traffic laws
• Property owners have a duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions for lawful visitors
• Employers have a duty to provide reasonably safe working conditions
• Medical professionals have a duty to meet the applicable standard of care for their specialty
• Manufacturers have a duty to design and produce products that are reasonably safe for their intended use

2. Breach of Duty

The defendant breached their duty of care by acting — or failing to act — in a way that fell below the reasonable person standard. Breach may involve:

• An affirmative act: speeding, running a red light, failing to repair a known hazard
• An omission: failing to warn of a dangerous condition, failing to inspect equipment, failing to train employees

In some cases, violation of a statute or regulation constitutes negligence per se — meaning the breach is established automatically by the legal violation, without needing to show that a reasonable person would have acted differently.

3. Causation

The defendant’s breach of duty caused the plaintiff’s injuries. Causation has two components:

• Actual cause (cause-in-fact): The injury would not have occurred “but for” the defendant’s breach of duty
• Proximate cause (legal cause): The injury was a foreseeable result of the defendant’s conduct — not caused by an independent intervening event that breaks the chain of causation

Causation is often the most contested element in negligence cases, particularly when injuries were pre-existing, when multiple parties contributed to the harm, or when there is a gap in time between the negligent act and the injury.

4. Damages

The plaintiff suffered actual, compensable harm as a result of the defendant’s negligence. Damages may be economic (medical bills, lost wages, property damage) or non-economic (pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life). Without provable damages, a negligence claim cannot proceed even if the other three elements are established.

California’s Pure Comparative Fault System

One of the most important aspects of California negligence law is its pure comparative fault rule. Learn more about how comparative negligence works in California. Under this system, a plaintiff can recover compensation even if they were partially at fault for causing their own injuries.

The plaintiff’s damages are reduced proportionally by their percentage of fault. For example:

• Total damages: $200,000
• Plaintiff found 30% at fault
• Recovery: $140,000 (70% of total damages)

Importantly, California’s pure comparative fault rule allows recovery even if the plaintiff is found more than 50% at fault — which is not the case in many other states. Even a plaintiff who is 99% at fault may still recover 1% of their damages.

Insurance companies and defense attorneys use comparative fault aggressively to reduce payouts. A key part of our job as your negligence lawyers in Los Angeles is to fight unfair fault allocations and ensure that the defendant bears the appropriate share of responsibility.

Gross Negligence vs. General Negligence

Not all negligence is equal. California law recognizes a distinction between ordinary negligence and gross negligence. See our full guide on what is gross negligence in California:

• Ordinary negligence: A failure to exercise reasonable care — the standard required for most personal injury claims
• Gross negligence: Conduct that constitutes a reckless disregard for the safety of others — a complete and total abandonment of the duty of care, beyond mere carelessness. Gross negligence may support punitive damages.

The distinction matters for several reasons. Liability waivers — such as those in gym memberships, scooter rental agreements, or recreational activity contracts — may be unenforceable when gross negligence is involved. Punitive damages, which are intended to punish egregious conduct and deter future wrongdoing, are also available in gross negligence cases.

Common examples of gross negligence include: a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level far above the legal limit, a landlord who knowingly ignores electrical hazards that cause a fire, or a product manufacturer that continues selling a product after learning of a known defect.

Negligence Per Se

When a defendant violates a statute or regulation that was designed to prevent the type of harm that occurred, they may be found negligent per se. See our full guide on what is negligence per se in California. This means that the violation of the law itself establishes the breach of duty element — the plaintiff does not need to separately prove what a reasonable person would have done.

To use negligence per se, a plaintiff must show:

• The defendant violated a statute or regulation
• The plaintiff is within the class of persons the statute was designed to protect
• The harm suffered is the type of harm the statute was designed to prevent
• The statutory violation caused the plaintiff’s injuries

Common negligence per se scenarios include: running a red light and causing a collision, violating building codes that result in structural failure, or failing to meet Cal/OSHA safety standards that lead to a workplace injury.

Common Defenses to Negligence Claims

Defendants and their insurance companies raise several common defenses in negligence cases. Understanding these defenses helps you prepare a stronger claim:

• Comparative fault: Arguing that the plaintiff was partially or primarily responsible for their own injuries. The most commonly used defense in California personal injury cases.
• Assumption of risk: Arguing that the plaintiff voluntarily assumed the risk of injury by participating in a known dangerous activity. Common in sports injury and recreational activity cases.
• Lack of causation: Arguing that the defendant’s conduct did not actually cause the plaintiff’s injuries, or that the injuries were pre-existing.
• Statute of limitations: Arguing that the plaintiff failed to file their lawsuit within the required time period.
• No duty of care: Arguing that the defendant did not owe the plaintiff a duty of care under the circumstances.

Types of Cases Where General Negligence Applies

Negligence is the legal foundation for a wide range of personal injury cases. At Mesriani Law Group, our Los Angeles negligence attorneys handle:

• Car accidents: Negligent driving, including distracted driving, speeding, and DUI
• Slip and fall accidents: Property owners who fail to maintain safe conditions or warn of known hazards
• Workplace accidents: Employer negligence, third-party contractor negligence, and Cal/OSHA violations
• Premises liability: Negligent maintenance of residential, commercial, and public properties
• Product liability: Defective products causing injury due to design defects, manufacturing defects, or failure to warn
• Dog bites and animal attacks: Owner negligence in failing to control or restrain a dangerous animal
• Wrongful death: Negligence resulting in a fatality, giving rise to a wrongful death claim by surviving family members

What Compensation Can You Recover in a Negligence Claim?

A successful negligence claim can recover compensation for all losses caused by the defendant’s breach of duty:

• Economic damages: Medical expenses, future medical care, lost income, reduced future earning capacity, and property damage
• Non-economic damages: Pain and suffering, emotional distress, PTSD, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. California has no cap on non-economic damages in most personal injury cases.
• Punitive damages: Available in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, intended to punish the defendant and deter future conduct

Important: California’s two-year statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 applies to most negligence claims. Claims against government entities require a tort claim within six months. Contact a negligence lawyer in Los Angeles as soon as possible to preserve evidence and protect your rights.

Why Choose Mesriani Law Group as Your Negligence Lawyer in Los Angeles?

Proving negligence requires legal expertise, investigative resources, and the ability to withstand aggressive defense tactics from insurance companies. For a detailed walkthrough, see our guide on how to prove negligence in a personal injury claim. At Mesriani Law Group we bring:

• Over 30 years proving negligence across every type of personal injury case in Los Angeles and throughout California
• Hundreds of millions of dollars recovered for clients
• Experience taking complex negligence cases to trial when insurers refuse to offer fair compensation
• No Win, No Fee — you pay nothing unless we win your case
• Available 24/7 in English, Spanish, and Farsi