What are the four elements typically required to establish a breach of duty of care in negligence?

• A. Duty of care, breach, causation, and damage
• B. Duty, breach, damages only
• C. Causation, intent, and liability
• D. Duty of care, foreseeability, and damages

Answer: (A)

To prove negligence, you must establish four things: a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to the harm, and actual damages. Duty of care means the defendant owed a legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward the plaintiff in the circumstances; a breach is failing to meet that standard; causation requires the breach to have caused the harm (the harm wouldn’t have happened but for the breach, with a legally recognized connection); and damages are the actual losses suffered. This four-part test is why listing duty of care, breach, causation, and damages is the best answer. The other options either omit one of these elements, introduce an element like intent that isn’t required for negligence, or treat foreseeability as a separate element rather than part of establishing the duty or breach.