Defence's Your Insurer Can Pursue If You're Accused of Negligence.

There are a number of ways that an accused may go about defending a cause of action. A defendant may deny that they committed an act, deny that the act was negligent or deny that the plaintiff was injured. A defendant would have to prove that there was no negligent conduct, even when there has been compliance with applicable statutes. For example, if a party were to allege a slip and fall on another person's property, the defendant could deny that the incident occurred at all. Or they could deny that they were negligent and that the property was free of any ice, snow or any other items that may increase the likelihood of an incident occurring. They could also deny that though the incident did occur, the plaintiff suffered no damages as they were not in need of medical attention, nor did they suffer any financial consequences of the fall.

The defendant can also use a remoteness of damage defense (novus actus interveniens). They must prove that their actions were not the proximate cause of the injuries or damages. The defendant must be able to show that there was an intervening act that broke the causal chain between the defendant’s breach of duty and the plaintiff’s injury. For example Party A strikes Party B. While being transported to the hospital, the ambulance is involved in an accident and Party B suffers further injury. Party A will likely be relieved of liability to Party B for the injuries caused by the auto accident.

A defendant can also use the inevitable accident defense. In this circumstance the defendant attempts to prove that the cause and result of the accident were inevitable, and that the damages occurred from an outside cause which the defendant could not control. This defense isn’t used very often, typically a defendant would deny that they were negligent. An example of this defense being used successfully can be found in Ryan v. Youngs where Mr. Youngs suffered a heart attack while operating a vehicle and consequently struck Mr. Ryan. Mr. Youngs history revealed nothing out of the ordinary and there was no way for him to foresee that he would have had a heart attack that day. The court would eventually rule in Mr. Youngs favour.