Understanding Negligence Per Se: The Legal Shortcut to Liability

Navigating the complexities of personal injury law can be challenging. When someone suffers harm due to the careless actions of another, the injured party typically needs to prove several key elements to seek compensation. However, there is a powerful legal doctrine that can simplify this process: negligence per se. This concept is a game-changer in specific cases, as it can automatically establish a crucial part of a personal injury claim.

What Is Negligence Per Se?

The term “negligence per se” is Latin for “negligence in itself” or “by itself”. It is a legal principle stating that a defendant is automatically considered to have been negligent because they violated a law, statute, or regulation. In other words, when a person violates a safety law, their action is classified as inherently negligent, and a court may not need to determine if their conduct was “reasonable”. This doctrine often applies in situations where a law is put in place to protect the public from a specific type of harm, such as a traffic law or a building code.

The Key Elements of a Negligence Per Se Claim

To successfully prove negligence per se, a plaintiff must establish four specific elements in court. Unlike a typical negligence claim where you must prove that a duty of care was owed and then breached, negligence per se presumes the first two elements are satisfied by the violation itself. The four required elements are:

• Violation of a Law: The plaintiff must show that the defendant violated a specific statute, ordinance, or regulation. This is often the most straightforward part of the claim.
• Protected Class: The plaintiff must be part of the group of people that the law was created to protect. For example, a traffic law is intended to protect pedestrians, passengers, and other drivers.
• Type of Harm: The harm suffered by the plaintiff must be of the type that the statute was designed to prevent. For instance, a law requiring a handrail on a staircase is meant to prevent injuries from falls.
• Causation and Damages: The defendant’s violation must be the direct and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. You must still prove that the violation led to your damages, and that you suffered actual harm.

Negligence Per Se vs. Ordinary Negligence

The primary difference between these two legal concepts lies in how a plaintiff proves the elements of a claim. In a standard negligence case, the plaintiff must prove all four elements: duty of care, breach of that duty, causation, and damages. This often involves demonstrating that the defendant’s conduct fell below the standard of a “reasonably prudent person”.

With negligence per se, the first two elements—duty and breach—are presumed because the defendant violated a safety law. This simplifies the case for the plaintiff, who then only needs to focus on proving that the violation caused their harm and resulted in damages.

Aspect	Ordinary Negligence	Negligence Per Se
Proof of Duty & Breach	Requires proving defendant’s unreasonableness.	Presumed by law violation.
Causation & Damages	Must be proven by the plaintiff.	Must still be proven by the plaintiff.
Underlying Basis	Reasonable person standard.	Violation of a statute or regulation.

Summary of Key Takeaways

1. Negligence per se is a legal doctrine where violating a safety statute or regulation is considered negligent without further proof.
2. It provides a “shortcut” for plaintiffs by automatically establishing the duty of care and breach of duty elements of a negligence claim.
3. The plaintiff must still prove that the violation was the cause of their harm and that they suffered damages.
4. The doctrine only applies if the plaintiff is a member of the protected class and the harm is of the type the statute was designed to prevent.

---

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Disclaimer

Conclusion

Understanding negligence per se can provide a clearer path to seeking justice after an injury. By recognizing when a law violation can automatically establish negligence, you can better comprehend the foundation of your potential personal injury claim. While the concept simplifies a key part of the legal process, remember that proving a direct causal link between the violation and your harm remains essential. If you believe you have a case involving negligence per se, consulting with a legal expert is the best way to determine your rights and options.

negligence per se, tort law, legal expert, duty of care, breach of duty, causation, damages, personal injury, safety statute, legal violation, protected class, proximate cause, legal doctrine, civil case, injury claim, legal shortcut