Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Model Lead Based Paint Risk Assessor Practice Test

The four elements a plaintiff must prove in a negligence case include all except?

1. Act or omission

2. Intent to cause harm

3. Duty

4. Injury

The correct answer is: Intent to cause harm

A plaintiff must prove four fundamental elements in a negligence case: duty, breach (act or omission), causation, and injury. Among these, the intent to cause harm is not a required element. Negligence is concerned not with the defendant's intention but with whether they failed to act with the reasonable care expected under the circumstances, leading to someone else’s injury. To elaborate: - The "duty" element pertains to the obligation one party has to another to act in a manner that does not cause foreseeable harm. - The "act or omission" signifies the failure to fulfill that duty, meaning that the defendant either engaged in negligent behavior or failed to act when they should have. - The "injury" aspect requires that the plaintiff demonstrates they suffered some form of damage as a direct result of the defendant’s negligence. Given these elements, the inclusion of the need to prove intent to cause harm would shift the focus to intentional torts rather than negligence. Therefore, intent is not a necessary component in a negligence case.