How to Get Compensation for Reckless and Wanton Conduct

If you have been the victim of reckless or wanton conduct, you need an attorney to help you recover from the injuries you have suffered. Reckless or wanton conduct is an action or inaction that disregards the safety of people or property. Even if a particular person did not understand the risk, he or she will nevertheless be held liable for wanton and reckless conduct if a reasonable person ought to have understood the risk of the action or inaction.

You may be as wrongfully injured by someone's reckless and wanton conduct as you would have been if the person meant to do you harm. Even if it is clear that the person did not intend to harm you, he may have exhibited reckless and wanton conduct. The key question is whether a reasonable person would have known that the action or inaction had a significant risk of doing harm. 

Driving straight through a red light, for example, shows wanton and reckless disregard for others who would expect the car to stop at a red light. The driver may not mean to harm anyone, but he has taken an action that any reasonable person would know creates a risk of harm to other people. 

Driving is not the only situation where people are charged with wanton and reckless conduct. Consider the case of parents who allowed underage teens to drink at a party, and then one of the underage drinkers drove while intoxicated and hurt someone. Compensation for wanton and reckless conduct was awarded because any reasonable person would know that allowing underage children to drink is against the law and could cause harm. Even if the parents thought that none of the drinking teens would drive home, they were held to be guilty of reckless and wanton conduct. 

Another example of reckless and wanton conduct is the case where the owner of a building locked the fire doors so that people could not exit during a fire. The building owner did not intend for anyone to die in a fire. However, any reasonable person would know that locking fire doors caused significant and unnecessary risk to people in the building. 

You deserve compensation if you have been the victim of reckless and wanton conduct. Cases of reckless and wanton conduct can be very complicated and you need an attorney who can ably build your case and represent your interests.