What is a negligence per se claim?

A negligence per se claim is a type of claim that applies when someone’s actions have broken a law. In civil litigation in Hawaii, a negligence per se claim allows a person to bring a lawsuit when another person has violated a law, statute, or ordinance and the violation caused the plaintiff harm. To prove a negligence per se claim, the plaintiff must show that the defendant has violated the law, the violation was the cause of the plaintiff’s damages, and that the plaintiff was in the class of people the law was designed to protect. For example, if someone is driving a car and runs a stop sign, they have violated the laws of Hawaii. If in doing so, they hit another car and injure someone, the injured party may bring a negligence per se claim against the driver who ran the stop sign. In that case, the court would look at the law that was broken and determine whether the injured party was in the class of people the law was designed to protect. If the plaintiff can demonstrate these elements, they may be able to recover damages from the driver who violated the law.

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What is a negligence per se claim?

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