Proving negligence is an essential part of nearly all personal injury cases. Generally, this is when someone is being careless or reckless while driving. This comes with a specific set of facts that will need to be proven in a personal injury case. Proving these facts can be difficult, however if you can prove that the defendant violated a law and this violation caused an auto accident, then it is much easier to prove that they were at fault. We call this Negligence Per Se.
Examples Of Negligence Per Se
An easy way to understand negligence per se is through a few examples. The most common example would be through a Washington car accident case. When a driver isn’t following the rules of the road, and this causes an auto accident, they are then at fault for the accident. The most common occurrences of this are:
- Speeding
- Running a red light
- Running through a stop sign
- Failing to yield to pedestrians or other vehicles when they have the right of way
- Failing to use a turn signal when changing lanes or turning
- Talking on the phone or texting while driving
Negligence per se isn’t just limited to car crashes. A dog bite case is another great example as well. Let’s say that someone is in an area with a leash law, and they let their dog off it’s leash. If the dog bites someone, then the owner would be responsible because they were negligent per se in not following the leash law. The owner is then liable to cover the costs for any injuries their dog may have caused.
So If I Prove Someone Was Negligent Per Se, Does That Mean I’ll Win My Case?
Not necessarily. Although proving that someone was negligent when causing your accident is great for your case, it doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically win. The insurance adjusters will try to deny any and everything that they can. Even if their client was at fault, it is very common for adjusters to say you were also partially or equally at fault. When this happens, you can expect a complicated legal battle to follow.
Proving someone was negligent is good grounds to stand on, but hiring an expert auto accident attorney puts the nail in the coffin for the insurance company. At Premier Law Group, our professional attorneys have decades of experience. We’ve helped hundreds of people win personal injury cases that adjusters wouldn’t have settled without a battle. Not only will we fight for you, but we’ll win too! Give us a call for a FREE consultation at 206-285-1743.