Is It Possible To Negligence Per Se in Torts?

Yes, negligence per se is a legal doctrine that establishes that an act is considered negligent because it violates a statute or regulation designed to protect a certain class of individuals.

Negligence per se is grounded in the idea that violating legislation meant to protect the public constitutes a breach of duty, thereby establishing negligence without needing to prove standard care. When a plaintiff can demonstrate that a defendant violated a safety statute, and that the violation caused harm to a member of the class the statute intended to protect, the court may find negligence per se.

Key considerations include whether the statute in question was intended to prevent the harm that occurred and whether the plaintiff was within the class of persons the statute was designed to protect. For example, if a driver violates a traffic law and causes an accident, the injured party may bring a negligence per se claim rather than relying on traditional standards of care.

However, courts may not always apply negligence per se rigidly. The defendant may argue affirmative defenses such as that the violation was reasonable under the circumstances or that compliance would have been more dangerous. Additionally, statutory violations must be clearly linked to the harm suffered for negligence per se to apply.

In defining negligence per se, courts often refer to the Restatement (Second) of Torts, which outlines how statutory violations can serve as a breach of duty. As such, understanding these nuances is critical for effectively analyzing cases involving alleged negligence per se.

• 1Martin v. Herzog (1920) - Established that violation of a statute constitutes negligence per se.
• 2Breach v. Federal Bureau of Prisons (2006) - Examined the application of negligence per se in the context of regulatory compliance.
• 3Klein v. Raysinger (1972) - Detailed the interpretation of classes intended to be protected under statutes.
• 4Falter v. Medford (1993) - Discussed limitations of applying negligence per se based on intent of the statute.

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