Negligence

 Negligence by Kalyani 

Negligence is a breach of duty caused by omission to do something which a reasonable man would do- or doing something which a prudent and reasonable man would not do. 

It can be characterized in three forms-

Nonfeasance: It means the act of failure to do something which a person should have done. For example, failure to carry out the repairs of an old building when it should have been done.

Misfeasance: It means the act of not doing an action properly when it should have been done properly. For example, Doing the repairs of an old building but doing so by using very poor quality materials creating a major probability of a collapse which injures people.

Malfeasance: It means the act of doing something which should not have been done in the first place itself. For example, using products that are not allowed and combustible to carry out the repairs of an old building, therefore, converting the building into a firetrap leading to an accident.

Illustration:

Z, An owner of a big dog requests his friend X to take care of the dog while he is away. X leaves the dog unattended who attacks a passerby badly injuring him. Here it will be said that the act occurred due to the negligence of X.

In the general sense, the extent of liability in tort is determined by the number of damages a party has incurred. Consequently, in criminal law, the extent of liability is determined by the amount and degree of negligence.