What constitutes negligence per se in tort law?

Negligence per se is a legal doctrine that occurs when a statute or regulation is violated, and that violation is directly linked to the injury suffered by an individual. The concept implies that an act (or failure to act) is considered negligent because it violates a law intended to protect a certain class of individuals or to prevent a specific type of harm.

The key element here is that the statute must be specifically designed to prevent the type of harm that occurred. This means that if a defendant breaches a duty imposed by a statute that is aimed at public safety or welfare, and that breach results in harm to a person whom the statute intended to protect, the defendant can be held liable under the doctrine of negligence per se. This effectively removes the necessity for the plaintiff to prove that the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care, as the violation of the statute itself is seen as sufficient evidence of negligence.

Other choices do not capture the essence of negligence per se. General standards of care are related to common law principles governing negligence but do not involve statutes. Common law negligence principles are broader and do not specifically address statutory violations, and judicial precedent has to do with how prior cases influence current legal rulings rather than the applicability of a specific statute. Overall, the focus on