Legal Definitions - negligent homicide

Negligent homicide occurs when a person causes the death of another individual due to their own significant carelessness or reckless disregard for the safety of others. Unlike murder, there is no intent to kill. Instead, the death results from a substantial failure to exercise the reasonable care that a prudent person would in a similar situation, leading to a fatal outcome.

Here are some examples to illustrate negligent homicide:

• Example 1: Reckless Driving

  A driver is speeding excessively on a residential street while simultaneously looking at directions on their phone. They fail to notice a pedestrian crossing the street and strike them, causing fatal injuries. The driver did not intend to kill the pedestrian, but their actions of driving at an unsafe speed and being distracted by their phone demonstrate a gross negligence and reckless disregard for the safety of others on the road, directly leading to the pedestrian's death.

• Example 2: Workplace Safety Failure

  A construction site supervisor repeatedly ignores safety regulations regarding the proper securing of heavy equipment, despite multiple warnings from workers. One day, a piece of equipment that was improperly secured falls, crushing and killing an employee. The supervisor did not intend for the employee to die, but their persistent and deliberate failure to enforce critical safety protocols constitutes gross negligence that directly resulted in the employee's death.

• Example 3: Negligent Caregiving

  A daycare worker leaves a group of toddlers unsupervised near an unfenced swimming pool while they take a personal phone call inside. One of the toddlers wanders into the pool area and drowns. The daycare worker did not intend to harm the child, but their severe lapse in supervision and failure to ensure the children's safety, which was their professional duty, demonstrates gross negligence that directly caused the child's death.