Opinion ID: 1695332
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: is this a case of negligence per se?

Text: Lastly, the Palmers contend that when the lower court found Anderson hospital failed to comply with § 1202.3 of the Minimum Standards of Operation for Mississippi Hospitals, by not requiring the presence of two surgeons during Sonny's first operation then that breach was negligence per se. They cite Boyer v. Tenn. Tom Constructors, 702 F.2d 609, 611 (1983), a Mississippi diversity case, in which the Fifth Circuit held: Mississippi recognizes the doctrine of negligence per se, which in essence provides that breach of a statute or ordinance renders the offender liable in tort without proof of a lack of due care. See Otto v. Specialties, Inc., 386 F. Supp. 1240 (N.D.Miss. 1974); Haver v. Hinson, 385 So.2d 605 (Miss. 1980); Miss. Power Co. v. Jones, 369 So.2d 1381 (Miss. 1979). Violation of a regulatory or penal statute such as § 65-1-45 constitutes negligence per se and will support a cause of action in tort where the plaintiff is within the class protected by the statute, and the harm sustained is the type sought to be prevented by the statute. Haver v. Hinson (sic). Assuming that Anderson hospital did breach a regulation and Sonny was within the class protected by that regulation he still must show that the violation proximately caused his injury. See Otto v. Specialties, Inc., 386 F. Supp. 1240, 1244 (N.D.Miss. 1974). In Hasson v. Hale, 555 So.2d 1014 (Miss. 1990), a drunk driver was involved in a car accident in which the driver of another car was killed. In affirming the lower court's refusal to grant a peremptory instruction on liability, this Court held: Hale's intoxication was negligence per se, and we agree that the plaintiffs were entitled to an instruction that Hale was negligent as a matter of law due to intoxication. As to whether such negligence proximately caused the accident, a jury question remained. 555 So.2d at 1016. The plaintiff still must show that the negligence proximately caused the injury complained of. In the case sub judice, even if the court determined that Anderson Hospital's failure to require two surgeons during Sonny's first surgery was negligence per se, the issue of whether the Palmers established a causal connection between the alleged negligence of the Defendant and the Plaintiff's injuries still must be proven. The central contention involved in this review is whether the Palmers presented significant and probative evidence establishing a causal connection. Since we have found here that sufficient evidence was presented to survive the motion for summary judgment, we find the issue of negligence per se irrelevant and without merit.