Which of the following is NOT one of the four elements of negligence?

• A. Duty of Care
• B. Breach of Duty
• C. Causation
• D. Beneficence

Answer: (D)

Negligence is proven only when four elements are all present: a duty of care owed to the plaintiff, a breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to the injury, and actual damages resulting from the injury. Beneficence is not one of these elements; doing good is not a legal requirement for establishing negligence. The duty of care is the obligation to act as a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances. A breach occurs when that standard isn’t met. Causation means the harm happened because of the breach, not due to some other cause. Damages require that the plaintiff suffered a real, measurable loss, such as medical expenses or property damage. For example, if a store owner leaves a spill unaddressed, creating a hazard, and a customer slips and incurs medical costs, all four elements can be satisfied. Beneficence doesn’t fit into this framework and wouldn’t convert a non-negligent situation into a negligent one.