Vince Sowerby Offers Insight on Negligence Per Se Through Distracted Driving



Negligence per se is a legal doctrine that simplifies the process of proving negligence in specific circumstances. Unlike traditional negligence claims, where individuals must establish the defendant's duty of care, breach, causation, and damages, negligence per se automatically presumes a responsibility and breach when specific legal violations occur.

In essence, negligence per se arises when a defendant violates a law or regulation designed to ensure public safety, and that violation clearly causes harm to a person the law was meant to protect. This doctrine serves as a streamlined approach, allowing courts to focus on causation and damages rather than debating whether the defendant was at fault.

One of the clearest examples of negligence per se is **distracted driving**, a behavior that has become increasingly prevalent with the rise of mobile devices and other distractions behind the wheel. Distracted driving laws, such as prohibitions against texting while driving, are designed to protect everyone on the road from avoidable accidents. When a person violates these laws and causes an accident, they can be found automatically negligent.

### How Negligence Per Se Works

For negligence per se to apply, four factors must typically be met:
1. **The defendant violated a law or regulation** – For instance, texting while driving violates laws in most states.
2. **The statute was enacted to prevent the type of harm that occurred** – Texting bans are intended to reduce car accidents caused by driver inattention.
3. **The plaintiff was among the group of people the law was designed to protect** – Road users, including motorists, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians, are intended beneficiaries of distracted driving laws.
4. **The statutory violation caused the plaintiff’s injury** – A direct connection must exist between the violation and the harm, such as a collision caused by a driver who was texting.

When these criteria are met, the legal system presumes the defendant was negligent. This means the plaintiff doesn’t need to prove the defendant's behavior was careless—only that it violated the law and caused harm.

### Distracted Driving as a Case Study

Imagine this scenario: A driver checks their phone to read a text message, runs a red light, and crashes into another vehicle. The driver broke a traffic law designed to prevent accidents, and their behavior directly caused harm. Under negligence per se, the injured party can argue that the statutory violation is enough to establish the driver’s negligence.




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