Negligence per Se
Definition
A common law doctrine under which violation of a statute or mandatory code is treated as automatic breach of the duty of care, removing the need to prove that the violated requirement was reasonable.
- Doctrine type
- Common law
- Effect
- Statute violation treated as automatic breach
- Removes
- Need to argue reasonableness of the requirement
- Applies to
- Statutes and mandatory codes
Common questions
Does negligence per se eliminate the need to prove causation?+
No. The claimant still must show the statutory violation caused the harm and that the harm was of the type the statute was meant to prevent.
How does negligence per se differ from ordinary negligence?+
Ordinary negligence requires proving a reasonable standard of care was breached; negligence per se substitutes the statute itself as that standard once a violation is shown.
Related terms
- Mandatory Code
- A standard incorporated by reference into statute or regulation, such that violation constitutes a legal breach and may support negligence per se...
- NFPA 921
- US National Fire Protection Association Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. The internationally accepted methodology Indian fire investigators and SFSL fire divisions...
- Standard of Care
- The level of skill, knowledge, and practice that a reasonably competent engineer in the same discipline and jurisdiction would have exercised under...
- State of the Art
- The level of technical knowledge and practice available at the time of design or construction, used in some jurisdictions as a defence...
- Voluntary Standard
- A consensus document representing best practice at the time of publication, departure from which is relevant but not conclusive evidence of negligence....