In personal injury cases in California, negligence per se may apply. This is a legal principle that means that a person is presumed to have acted in some type of negligent manner that violates a statute. The direct result of that violation is that another person was injured. Understanding this theory could be critical to proving that personal injury occurred in your case. Talk to a Santa Monica personal injury lawyer from Borna Houman Law today.
The Definition of Negligence Per Se
Under California law, the term negligence per se means that the plaintiff has proven for things:
- The at-fault party broke a law or in some way violated a regulation
- That violation directly caused injury to the plaintiff in the case
- The injury was the type of event that the law or regulation was put in place to prevent
- The law was meant as a way to protect those who are in the same class as the plaintiff
To get a better idea of what this means, consider the following. With this legal theory, there is a presumption of duty and a breach of that duty by the at-fault party. The presumption shifts the burden of proof in the case from you, the party that suffered the injury, to the dependent. That means the defendant, or at-fault party, must show evidence that they were not negligent.
This is an important factor in personal injury cases in California. If the defendant cannot prove that they did not act in a negligent manner, they will lose the case and be held accountable for the losses.
The Key Details of Negligence Per Se Matter
It is important to note that negligence per se has limitations. For example, it does not conclusively establish that liability lies in the defendant’s hands because the defendant still has the ability to show that they were not negligent. To do this, the defendant may show that another person of reason may have done the same thing in violating the law if the conditions were the same. It may also be proven that negligence did not occur if the defendant can show they did not know they had to comply with the regulation.
Examples of Negligence Per Se
In California, some of the most common examples of the use of negligence per se include the following:
- Blood alcohol content limits in violation during a car accident
- A building code violation that is adopted to protect occupants from unsafe buildings
- Federal laws that are meant to protect groups at large, such as a doctor refusing to treat a patient
The complexities of negligence per se make it critical that victims seek out legal guidance if they are faced with using these types of principles. It is not always easy to identify when negligence per se is present, and having the guidance and experience of an attorney can help to make sure that this principle actually applies in your case.
Seek out the guidance of a personal injury attorney from Borna Houman Law in California to verify your rights in these cases. Call today for a free consultation.