Negligence per se means "negligence in itself." It is a standard in personal injury cases whereby a defendant is assumed to be automatically liable for a plaintiff's damages if they violated a statute.
Typically, in a personal injury case, you typically have to prove the five elements of negligence:
- Duty of care — Another person or organization had a responsibility to value your safety
- Breach of duty — They failed in that responsibility
- Cause-in-fact — The accident caused your injuries
- Proximate cause — Their breach of duty caused the accident
- Damages — You sustained physical and financial harm as a result of the accident
Because state statutes are designed, in part, to stop people from harming others, someone who broke the law is considered to have broken the first two elements as a matter of law. The case would then center around whether the accident caused your injuries, and how much your resulting damages are. When you file a negligence per se claim, you only have to demonstrate:
- Violation of the law — That the person you're making a claim against violated a statute or law
- Intent of the law — Their violation caused the harm that the statute or law was designed to prevent
- You were part of the protected class — That you were meant to be protected under the statute
Say you were injured in a drunk driving accident. Laws against drunk driving exist to keep everyone else on the roads safe. If a drunk driver causes your injuries, according to the above, you would have to show that:
- The other driver was drunk (this can be done through police reports, photographs, witness testimony, etc...)
- You were injured
Similarly, if the driver was under-aged, a bar knowingly sold them alcohol and they caused an accident that injured you, you may be able to file a negligence per se claim against the bar because they broke the law. In a "dram shop case." Dram shop claims are allowed under both Missouri drunk driving laws and Illinois drunk driving laws.
Other examples could be a contractor that violates a building code when constructing a new building, a truck accident caused by a driver or company not following FMCSA regulations or a doctor who did not obtain your consent before an operation, leading to a medical malpractice claim.