Proof of negligence is a common way to hold someone liable for your injuries. However, you have several ways of proving liability, other than negligence. One of them is negligence per se, which sounds like but is much different from conventional negligence. Below is a comparison of negligence and negligence per se.
Ordinary Negligence
Negligence generally means that someone has acted carelessly and caused injury to another person. Negligence is not an arbitrary principle. Legal experts use four principles to assign fault to a negligent party. Below are the four elements of negligence.
1. Duty
You must prove that the defendant had a legal obligation to adhere to reasonable care standards to avoid causing you harm. The law refers to this legal obligation as a duty of care. The legal obligation only applies to foreseeable harm. For example, a driver has a legal obligation to drive carefully to avoid endangering other road users.
2. Breach
You also need to prove that the defendant breached their duty of care — that is, they failed to observe reasonable care under the circumstances. This analysis requires comparing the defendant’s actions and what an average or reasonable person would have done under similar circumstances.
For example, drivers breach their duty of care to road users if they use their phones while driving. After all, a reasonable person wouldn’t use their phone while driving since the phone distraction can trigger an accident.
3. Causation
The third element requires you to prove that the defendant’s actions were the accident’s direct cause. This element also requires you to prove that the defendant knew or should have known about their action’s potential effects.
For example, an average driver knows or should know that phone distraction can cause a crash. Therefore, in an auto accident claim based on negligence, you prove causation by proving that the phone distraction was the crash’s actual cause.
4. Damages
Lastly, you must prove that you suffered significant loss because of the defendant’s actions. Typical damages include injury and property damages that lead to monetary losses. Examples include bodily injury that requires treatment, car damage that requires repair, and loss of income.
Negligence Per Se
For conventional negligence theory, you must prove how the defendant’s fault caused your injuries. That standard of proof is not applicable when using the legal theory of negligence per se. In this case, you just need to prove the following three elements.
1. Legal Violation
You must first prove that the defendant violated an existing law on public safety. Examples of public safety laws are those that:
- Traffic rules, such as speed limits on highways
- Building codes, such as the requirement for emergency exits on public buildings
- Food handling laws, such as laws on fresh meat storage
For example, driving the wrong way is a violation of public safety laws.
2. Class Protection
Public safety laws protect different classes of people. For example, landlords must provide fire-detection equipment for their tenants. Thus, if you suffer injury in an apartment without fire-detection equipment, you must prove that you are a tenant in the building to lodge a negligence per se claim.
3. Proximate Cause
Lastly, you must prove that the defendant’s legal violation was the actual cause of your injury. Consider the above example of a fire outbreak in an apartment without fire-detection equipment. You can file a negligence per se claim if you suffer fire-related injuries, such as burn injuries or smoke inhalation.
However, negligence per se doesn’t apply if your injuries don’t stem directly from the fire. An example is if you slip and fall on your torn carpet while attempting to put out the fire. In such a case, the torn carpet, and not the landlord’s legal violation, is the proximate cause of your injury.
Contact Randall A. Wolff & Associates, Ltd., if you have a personal injury claim. We will review your case to determine fault and help you pursue your damages to the fullest extent of the law.
