If you get hurt in an accident, you may have the right to make a personal injury claim against the person or company responsible for harming you.

You generally have to prove the defendant was negligent in order to be entitled to compensation. In some cases, however, the defendant’s behavior goes beyond mere negligence and crosses the line into recklessness.

So, what does recklessness mean in a personal injury claim? Here’s what you need to know about the legal definition of this term–and why it matters to your case.

What Is Negligence in a Personal Injury Claim?

In most personal injury claims, you can recover compensation for injuries if you demonstrate the following:

  • The defendant had a duty of care
  • The defendant was negligent and failed to live up to that duty
  • The defendant’s negligence was the direct cause of harm
  • You sustained damages you can be compensated for due to negligence

Typically, you demonstrate negligence by showing the defendant’s actions or omissions were below the level of care a reasonable person would have exhibited in the same circumstances. For example, drivers have a duty to be careful on the road. A reasonably prudent driver would stop for a red light. So, a failure to stop for a traffic light is considered negligence and a driver who goes through a red light could be held accountable for damages if an accident results.

It is important to note that you don’t have to show a defendant intentionally failed to live up to their duty of care in order to successfully prove negligence. And you don’t have to show that a defendant knew he was behaving negligently to win a personal injury case. All you must show is that a reasonable person in the same situation would have been more careful.


What Is Recklessness in a Personal Injury Claim?

Recklessness is different–and more serious–than mere negligence. Recklessness refers to a situation where a person knowingly does something dangerous or willfully disregards the safety of other people or property. It may also be called gross negligence or willful or wanton behavior.

A person does not necessarily need to intend harm by their reckless behavior in order for it to be classified as reckless. But recklessness is much closer to intentional misconduct than negligence would be. Typically, for someone to be reckless, they must show a conscious disregard for others or utter indifference towards the safety of others.

A reckless defendant doesn’t just act less carefully than a reasonable person would have under the same circumstances. A reckless defendant behaves more egregiously, with an added level of dangerous disregard for safety.

If you are making a personal injury claim, you’ll have to show negligence–you aren’t required to show recklessness to win your case. But if you believe a defendant’s actions do rise to the level of recklessness, you’ll want to make sure you introduce evidence of this as it can affect the compensation you’re entitled to receive.


Examples of Recklessness

Many different kinds of behavior can be classified as recklessness under the law, although state rules differ. Some common examples of behavior that are considered reckless include:

  • Texting and driving
  • Performing surgery without a license
  • Knowingly releasing a dangerous product into the marketplace
  • Driving while drunk
  • Driving at an extremely excessive rate of speed, such as going 100 miles per hour

How Does Recklessness Impact Your Case?

If someone hurt you, it’s important to determine if they behaved recklessly or not. That’s because, in some situations, you may be entitled to additional compensation if you can prove recklessness in a personal injury case.

In most personal injury claims based on negligence, you are entitled to compensation for the following:

  • Medical bills
  • Lost wages
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress

Compensation for all of these damages is available because the goal is to try to “make you whole” for losses you actually experienced. When recklessness is involved, however, you may also be entitled to punitive damages (depending on your state laws and the type of personal injury claim you’re making).

Punitive damages aren’t just designed to compensate you–they’re meant to punish the defendant for the wrongful and dangerous conduct and to discourage similar misbehavior in the future.

Punitive damages may sometimes be worth a substantial amount of money, and you don’t want to pass up your right to claim them if doing so is appropriate in your case.


Should You Hire a Lawyer When a Defendant Was Reckless?

If you believe you were harmed by someone who was behaving recklessly, it may be especially important to get help from a personal injury lawyer to make a claim for compensation.

You may need additional evidence to prove that the defendant’s harmful actions rose to the level of recklessness so you can get the full amount of compensation that you deserve.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is legal recklessness?

Legal recklessness refers to behavior that goes beyond mere negligence. It must show a wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of other people or property. A reckless defendant must have behaved much more dangerously than a reasonable person would have and can sometimes be required to pay punitive damages as a result of this misbehavior.

Do you need to show recklessness to get personal injury compensation?

In most personal injury claims, you must prove negligence. This means showing a defendant owed a duty of care and breached that duty by behaving less carefully than they should have under the circumstances. You do not need to prove recklessness, which is more serious and involves a willful or wanton disregard for your safety. However, if you can prove recklessness, you may be entitled to additional compensation in the form of punitive damages.

Is reckless a form of negligence?

Recklessness differs from negligence. A person who is negligent fails to fulfill their duty of care and behaves below the accepted standard of care. For example, a driver would be negligent if they behaved less carefully behind the wheel than a reasonably prudent driver would have. Recklessness is more serious than negligence, and it involves a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of other people or others’ property.