Physical evidence can show that a negligent party caused a personal injury accident and leave that party financially liable.
But California’s Evidence Code (EVID) also details how someone could be found liable simply for violating a safety regulation that caused an injury. Additional proof may not be necessary.
(a) The failure of a person to exercise due care is presumed if:
(1) He violated a statute, ordinance, or regulation of a public entity;
(2) The violation proximately caused death or injury to person or property;
(3) The death or injury resulted from an occurrence of the nature which the statute, ordinance, or regulation was designed to prevent; and
(4) The person suffering the death or the injury to his person or property was one of the class of persons for whose protection the statute, ordinance, or regulation was adopted.
Proving Who Was at Fault Through Negligence Per Se
In California, proving another driver struck your car might involve obtaining traffic video and eyewitness testimony. But in some California cases, that physical evidence can take a back seat to a legal concept known as negligence per se.
Negligence per se means “negligence in itself.” It’s a legal doctrine that basically means that when people ignore a law and it causes an accident, they can usually be held liable for the consequences.
Negligence per se can show that someone violated their “duty of care” to another, leading to harm. This is generally the foundation of any personal injury case. This would often make it easier for victims to prove fault and liability and to earn support for their recoveries.
A case using Negligent Per Se would still need to prove these factors:
- The person violated a statute or regulation that was on the books as a city, county, state, or federal law.
- The ignored ordinance caused the injury or death of the victim.
- The accident and injury were caused by the person ignoring the law.
- The victims qualified as the type of person the law was enacted to safeguard.
In the case of a red light runner, the driver didn’t stop for a red light as the right of way required. Their failure to stop caused an injury. The injury was inflicted by the person who didn’t stop as the traffic light instructed. The person hurt in the T-boned car was supposed to be protected by the code that demands that driver stop at red lights.
Exceptions to Negligence Per Se
There are a few reasons a presumed at-fault party could push back on Negligence Per Se and not following the law.
- Due to the circumstances, the person couldn’t follow the law as it was written.
- The person was involved in an emergency they didn’t cause and couldn’t follow the law.
- Following the law would have hurt more people.
- The person was incapacitated at the time of the accident and couldn’t follow the ordinance.
- Another law overrode the current ordinance in question.
- In some cases, children aren’t considered to have the maturity and judgment to be held liable under Negligence Per Se.
In some cases, Negligence Per Se won’t be enough to hold a bad driver or a negligent property owner liable for a personal injury accident.
A skilled personal injury lawyer working for California victims would be ready to win your case with evidence. A skilled lawyer fully investigates your case and builds a strong case for you. Your lawyer protects you when an insurance company tries to blame you for what happened, and can often win you much more than you could if you handle your case yourself.
Contact a California Lawyer After Being Hurt in an Accident
If you are seriously hurt in an accident caused by someone else’s mistake or failure to follow the law, contact a California attorney.
Go over your options in a free, confidential case consultation with a real lawyer.
If you do need our help to earn more, you don’t have to have any money to hire a lawyer. In fact, Maison Law isn’t paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the check that a government entity must write for you.
