Negligence per se is an important legal concept in personal injury law, making it easier for victims of accidents to collect compensation and hold the offender accountable. If you were involved in an accident it is crucial that you are aware of all legal rights and options afforded to you. Contact a New York injury lawyer to discuss your situation today.
What is Negligence Per Se?
Negligence per se is a legal concept that literally means negligence in itself. When a person violates a law or regulation and their actions lead to another person being injured, they can be found negligent based only on the fact that they broke the law. Essentially, the act of violating any legal regulation itself is considered negligent.
To successfully prove negligence per se, the following factors must be identified and established.
- Violation of law: The defendant must have clearly breached a specific law or regulation, whether it was a traffic law, criminal law, or civil regulation.
- Protect specific class: The law that the defendant violated must be designed to protect a specific group that the injured individual must be a part of. For example, traffic laws designed to prevent drunk driving protect other drivers, pedestrians, and road users.
- Damages: Finally, there must be evidence that the defendant’s violation of the law directly caused and resulted in the victim’s injuries and other damages.
What Role Does Negligence Per Se Play in a Personal Injury Case?
Negligence per se simplifies the process of establishing negligence in a personal injury case. It allows the victim to prove that the defendant was liable based on their violation of the law. This concept changes the burden of proof. When establishing regular negligence, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed them a duty of care, they breached the duty, the breach of duty caused the accident, and the accident resulted in the victim’s injuries and damages.
Negligence per se allows the victim to bypass some of those requirements. Duty of care and breach of duty do not need to be established. It must only be proven that the defendant broke the law and the victim sustained damages as a result.
Negligence per se makes it easier for the victim of an accident to recover damages and compensation. This legal concept is particularly beneficial in cases where there is limited evidence.
If you are the defendant in a personal injury case and negligence per se is being used against you, you may be able to successfully implement defensive strategies depending on the circumstances of the situation. You could argue that you did not violate the law or that the victim’s injuries did not result from your actions. Reach out to a skilled attorney at Mitchell J. Schroeder, P.C. for more information and legal advice.
