What is Negligence Per Se in North Carolina and How it does it Relate to My Car Accident?
In order for you to be compensated by another driver’s insurance company in your car accident case, your car accident lawyer has to be able to show that the other driver was negligent causing the actual car wreck.
In North Carolina motor vehicle accident cases, there are multiple ways to show that another driver was Negligent in causing your automobile accident. One way to show that another driver was Negligent is called Negligence Per Se. Negligence Per Se or Negligence in and of itself related to the idea that every driver has duty to drive his vehicle without violating the North Carolina and applicable motor vehicle statutes, laws, codes, and ordinances.
The majority of the laws that are used to Negligence Per Se are contained in either Chapter 20 of the North Carolina General Statues, in your County or City Code or Ordinances. Common examples of North Carolina Traffic Laws that are used to show Negligence Per Se in an automobile accident case are:
- Failure to yield to the right of way;
- Failure to keep a reasonable lookout;
- Failure to keep vehicle under proper control;
- Failure to reduce speed;
- Failure to obey traffic signals;
For example, suppose are you driving on the highway and begin to reduce your speed because you are approaching stopped traffic. Then, you are rear-ended by another driver because that driver failed to reduce his speed. It is likely that the police officer or highway patrolman who comes to the scene of the accident with charge or cite the other driver with failure to reduce speed. This would then make the other driver the at-fault driver because he was Negligent Per Se in causing the car accident.
If you have any questions about Negligence or whether another driver was negligent in causing your motor vehicle accident, please call our Durham personal injury lawyer for a free consultation or free phone call at (888) 820-5885 or complete our contact form on this page.
