Negligence per se occurs when a person commits a negligent act while breaking a law which promotes public safety. Their violation of the law puts people’s safety at risk.
Involved in an accident? What do you need to prove? It is more straight forward to establish negligence per se than a normal negligence claim. If the other driver was speeding or ran a stop sign, their negligence is per se. Basically, the negligence will speak for itself.
After an Auto Accident
Normal negligence and negligence per se do not necessarily affect the amount of your recovery. Certain acts such as drunk driver will allow you to seek punitive damages.
After the accident, your personal injury lawyer will contact the defendant’s insurance company. We want to know if they are accepting liability. If they do not, we start by confirming the law that the defendant violated. Negligence per se is a more direct route to establish liability.
Burden of Proof
To prove that you are entitled to negligence per se, you must show that the other driver violated the law. A traffic ticket supports your claim. But if you allege that they were speeding without a ticket, you might need to utilize and expert witness. The jury must clearly understand the law that was broken. They also need to see how it put your safety in danger.
Conclusion
If you have been involved in an auto accident, you need professionals on your side as soon as possible. Each step of a claim can affect how long it will take to get a settlement and how much it will be.
If you are preparing from the day of the accident, you claim will run smoother. Don’t allow a bad situation to be made worse. Get the treatment and the settlement that you deserve.
