Negligence in tort law can be divided into two main types: standard negligence and negligence per se. Each type has its own important features.

Standard Negligence means showing that someone (the defendant) had a responsibility to care for someone else (the plaintiff), didn’t meet that responsibility, and injured the person because of it. Here are the key points:

• Duty: This is the legal responsibility to act in a safe and reasonable way.
• Breach: This is when the person fails to act safely.
• Causation: This means there is a clear connection between the failure to act safely and the injury that happened.
• Damages: These are the actual injuries or losses suffered because of the failure to act safely.

On the other hand, Negligence Per Se happens when someone breaks a law that was made to keep people safe, and that break leads to injury. The main features include:

• Statutory Violation: If the defendant breaks a safety law, their actions are considered negligent.
• Presumed Breach and Damages: The injured person doesn’t have to prove that the defendant acted unsafely; just breaking the law is enough to show they were at fault.
• Protected Class: The person who got hurt must be someone the law was designed to protect.

So, while standard negligence looks at what the defendant did and the circumstances around it, negligence per se makes it simpler by using existing laws. Both types are important in tort law, affecting how fault and responsibility are determined in different situations.