What is Gross Negligence in North Carolina?

In North Carolina personal injury claims, the standard of proving liability is usually negligence. The question of whether negligence caused the plaintiff’s claimed harm can include two additional inquiries:

• Whether the plaintiff was contributorily negligent, which could act as a bar to recovery against the defendant; and
• Whether the defendant’s alleged negligent behavior rose to the level of gross negligence, which can allow the plaintiff to still recover personal injury damages even if the plaintiff was contributorily negligent.

The Price Petho & Associates law firm represents North Carolina personal injury plaintiffs. In this blog post, we cover how North Carolina laws and court decisions define gross negligence and how gross negligence fits into the overall consideration of negligence in personal injury claims.

If you have suffered harm in the state of North Carolina because of the negligent act of another person, call our Charlotte office today to speak to a lawyer.

What is negligence generally?

Ordinary negligence is a legal concept that starts with the concept of reasonable behavior toward others under the circumstances you are in.

We all owe duties of reasonable care when others are involved. For example:

• When we are driving, we owe a duty to other vehicle occupants and pedestrians to do things like obey traffic laws, to drive sober, and not to engage in things like distracted driving.
• When we invite others to visit us on property we own, we owe a duty not to expose those people to hazardous conditions on the property, or to at least warn them if such conditions exist.
• When we are engaged in potentially hazardous activities in our work, we have a duty to safeguard others against reasonably foreseeable harm that can result from a work-related accident, like warning signs, erecting fences or other barriers, or employing other safeguards.

If we breach a duty of reasonable care, and that breach leads to a foreseeable injury or property damage, then negligence may apply.

Contributory negligence

In legal practice, the concept of the “faultless plaintiff” is often the exception to the rule when it comes to negligence that leads to harm. An example of a faultless plaintiff might be the passenger in a vehicle who is injured in a car accident.

Often, defendants in personal injury lawsuits will attempt to show that the plaintiff played at least some role in causing the harm he or she suffered. This is known as contributory negligence.

In North Carolina, contributory negligence is a common defense argument because if the defendant can persuade a jury that it exists, then this is generally a bar to the plaintiff’s recovery. This is because North Carolina is one of only a handful of states in the United States that uses the legal doctrine of “pure” contributory negligence.

Many other states use a different standard of “comparative negligence,” in which the plaintiff’s own negligence can reduce a damages award in a personal injury claim, but does not preclude the plaintiff from making the claim.

So, for example, consider an automobile accident-based personal injury claim in North Carolina in which the plaintiff accuses the defendant of speeding, which caused the collision to happen.

If the defendant can show the court that the plaintiff was also driving over the speed limit, then ordinarily pure contributory negligence will result in the plaintiff’s claim being thrown out of court.

How does gross negligence work in North Carolina?

The pure contributory negligence rule in North Carolina can lead to some seemingly harsh results, especially if the defendant’s negligence was severe. The legal concept of gross negligence is one way that courts in the state can use to soften the effect of the pure contributory negligence rule.

What is gross negligence?

North Carolina courts define gross negligence as “wanton conduct done with conscious or reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others.” This definition requires clarification of what wanton conduct is.

What is wanton conduct?

Under North Carolina statutory law, willful or wanton conduct “means the conscious and intentional disregard of and indifference to the rights and safety of others, which the defendant knows or should know is reasonably likely to result in injury, damage, or other harm.”

Courts in this state have held that “An act is wanton when it is done of wicked purpose, or when done needlessly, manifesting a reckless indifference to the rights of others.”

Essentially, gross negligence in North Carolina is wanton conduct showing a conscious or reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others.

What are examples of wanton conduct?

In motor vehicle-related cases, North Carolina court decisions have found the following acts to be grossly negligent:

• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Potentially, driving at excessive speed, like more than 100 miles per hour.
• Illegal racing on a public street or highway, depending on the facts.

Other general examples of conduct that may be grossly negligent can be:

• In healthcare-related cases, prescribing a medication to a patient with a documented allergy, leading to severe harm or death, or a surgeon performing a surgical procedure without having the proper qualifications (gross negligence may overlap with willful or wanton medical malpractice, which could support a punitive damages claim under N.C. law).
• Not providing a vulnerable patient, like a nursing home resident, with food or water for several days.
• A lifeguard is leaving a pool unattended.
• A property owner who ignores repeated warnings about a hazardous condition on that person’s property and fails to repair it or close it off to access.
• A product manufacturer that knowingly sells a defective product that poses a risk of death or serious injury.

How does gross negligence affect pure contributory negligence?

One key effect of gross negligence on the part of a defendant in a personal injury claim in North Carolina is that this will negate the effect of the pure contributory negligence rule. As a result, the plaintiff can still recover damages even if the plaintiff was contributorily negligent.

In addition to gross negligence, North Carolina courts recognize other exceptions to the contributory negligence rule, such as the last clear chance doctrine, which allows recovery if the defendant had the final opportunity to avoid the accident but failed to act. Additionally, certain conduct can lead to punitive damages. Punitive damages may be awarded only upon proof of fraud, malice, or willful or wanton conduct by clear and convincing evidence.

Do you have questions about gross negligence in a North Carolina personal injury claim?

If you have a personal injury claim in North Carolina, then the question of whether the person responsible for your harm acted in a grossly negligent way can have a significant impact on whether you can file a lawsuit in civil court.

Proving what constitutes gross negligence is not always a clear-cut exercise, because North Carolina court cases have not specifically established all the possible examples of what gross negligence is. This is where having experienced personal injury attorneys on your side can be critical to your chances of success in court.

Price Petho & Associates has been the firm you’ve known and trusted since 1979. When you are hurt, we want to help. Put our decades of experience to work for you. Please call us today or fill out our contact form to schedule your free consultation. Serving Charlotte, Rockingham, Rutherfordton, and throughout North Carolina.

With hundreds of cases tried in front of a jury, and hundreds of millions of dollars secured for our clients, we’re prepared to take on even the toughest cases.