Negligence per se is a doctrine that benefits victims of personal injuries and accidents. It can be a helpful legal tool when implemented correctly. For more information and to obtain representation during your claim or lawsuit, reach out to a Memphis personal injury lawyer today.
What is Negligence Per Se?
Negligence per se is a legal doctrine that can be used to simplify the legal process after an accident and injury. It can only be used when the defendant violated a statute or regulation that was designed to protect a certain group of people.
The Latin translation means negligence “in itself” or “by itself,” meaning that the individual is negligent solely based on the fact that they broke the law in question. This doctrine allows negligence to be established without some of the criteria that standard negligence requires.
How Can Negligence Per Se Be Established?
When being used in a personal injury case it is crucial that negligence per se is established in a way that benefits your efforts for compensation. You can prove negligence per se through the following.
- The defendant violated or broke a law or regulation
- The law or regulation was intended to protect the safety of a certain group of people
- The violation of the law caused the accident
- The plaintiff was a member of the group of people the law was designed to protect and sustained damages from the accident
For example, consider a car crash where the defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol. Drunk driving is illegal because of the dangers it poses to other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. If the defendant is driving drunk and hits a pedestrian on the street, negligence per se can be used in the case because they broke the law regarding intoxicated driving and caused injury and damages to a person protected by that law.
How Can Negligence Per Se Benefit a Personal Injury Case?
This doctrine can be significantly beneficial in a personal injury case. It makes it easier for victims to earn compensation to cover their various expenses associated with the accident.
As established, negligence must be proven in a personal injury case to demonstrate that the defendant was responsible for the victim’s injuries and other damages. However, to successfully prove liability due to negligence the plaintiff must show that 1) the defendant owed them some duty of care 2) the defendant breached that duty of care 3) the breach of duty directly caused the accident and 4) the victim sustained injuries and damages as a result of the accident.
This can be a lot to prove. Negligence per se allows the plaintiff to bypass the first two steps of that process. As long as the plaintiff can prove that the defendant broke a law or regulation put in place to protect individuals, they can establish negligence per se and be awarded damages.
