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(314) 500-HURTNegligence 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:
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:
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:
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.
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This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Gary Burger who has more than 30 years of legal experience as a practicing personal injury trial attorney. Gary’s robust legal knowledge is recognized by his peers as demonstrated by his industry awards and frequent Continuing Legal Education (CLE) lectures.
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