Many people are familiar with the idea that a plaintiff can hold a person responsible if he or she is negligent. There are numerous ways someone can be negligent — for example, a driver who runs a red light has breached their duty of care to act as a reasonable driver by violating an electric signal. In today’s blog, we explore negligence in personal injury, how it applies to Missouri law and the basis of negligence per se in our state.
Explaining Negligence in Missouri
In Missouri, a defendant can be responsible for breaching his or her duty if an ordinance or statute is violated. Statutes are laws passed by the Missouri legislature while ordinances are typically laws passed by a municipality like the City of St. Louis. These laws are intended to set forth the conduct of a reasonable person and are the basis of the legal doctrine, negligence per se.
What is Negligence Per Se?
Negligence per se is a type of negligence where a statute or ordinance sets forth the standard of care. Instead of ordinary care of a reasonable person being the legal standard, in negligence per se a court adopts the standard of care based on a law. As a result, a jury considers whether the statute was violated, rather than the duty of care of a reasonable person. This legal theory is most commonly found in cases involving tractor-trailer accidents, car accidents, premises defects and construction accidents.
Negligence per se helps a plaintiff prove to a jury that the defendant’s actions were unreasonable and below the standard of care when an applicable statute or ordinance was violated.
Proving Negligence Per Se in Missouri
Proving negligence per se begins with showing how a defendant violated a certain ordinance of statute and thereby breached his or her duty of care during an accident. In the example of the red light accident above, if the plaintiff can prove the person ran a red light based on a local ordinance through evidence such as surveillance and/or witness testimony, they are more likely to have a strong case.
In order to prove a defendant breached their duty of care, a plaintiff must show:
- There was a violation of a statute or an ordinance;
- The injured party was within the class of persons intended to be protected by the statute or ordinance;
- The injury was of the same nature that the statute or ordinance was designed to prevent;
- The violation of the statute or ordinance was the proximate cause of the injury.
Work with an MHM Personal Injury Attorney
When an unexpected injury sets you back, it can be difficult to figure out how to move forward. Our personal injury attorneys join with you to help you get back on your feet after someone else’s negligence impacts your daily life. With our years of combined experience in personal injury cases involving negligence per se and other legal factors, we will work tirelessly to get the results you deserve.
Contact our dedicated St. Louis team today for a free consultation about your personal injury case. Additionally, learn more about how negligence per se played a role during our tent collapse case against Kilroy’s Sports Bar in St. Louis in our recent blog.