What is the legal term for failing to exercise proper care?

Negligence is the legal term that refers to the failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonable person would in similar circumstances. It involves a breach of duty that results in harm or injury to another party. In legal contexts, demonstrating negligence typically requires showing that the individual had a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused an injury as a direct result of that breach.

While malpractice specifically pertains to negligence in a professional context, such as medical malpractice, it is not a general term for failing to exercise proper care across all situations. Liability refers to legal responsibility for one's actions or the causes of an event, but it does not specifically denote the lack of care. Irresponsibility is a more general term that describes a lack of concern for the consequences of one’s actions and is not specifically a legal term. Therefore, negligence most accurately captures the definition of failing to exercise proper care in a legal sense.