What is a “negligence per se” claim?

In the state of Washington, negligence per se is a legal claim in which a plaintiff alleges that the defendant was negligent because they violated a law or statute that was meant to protect people from harm. In order to win a negligence per se case, the plaintiff must prove that: 1) the defendant violated the law; 2) the defendant’s actions caused the harm the plaintiff suffered; and 3) the law was created to protect people like the plaintiff from such an injury. It is important to note that the law must have been intended to prevent the injury the plaintiff suffered, not a different one. In a negligence per se claim, the plaintiff does not need to prove that the defendant acted with any particular level of care. This means that the defendant is presumed to be negligent, since they violated a law that was meant to protect the plaintiff from harm. Negligence per se claims are a type of product liability law because they involve the violation of a law that was intended to protect people from harm. In Washington, negligence per se claims can be used when a product has been defective, but the defendant failed to follow the appropriate laws or statutes that were meant to protect consumers. This could include failure to meet safety standards or to properly label a product.

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What is a “negligence per se” claim?

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