It is well established that if a violation of a statute is established at trial, the jury will be charged that the offending party was negligent.1 Thus, the non-offending party would be entitled to a directed verdict on the issue of negligence2 in the case of a trial or summary judgment on a motion (proximate cause, of course, could still be an issue). In automobile cases, the statute generally violated would be a section of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law3 (hereinafter the VTL).
If the accident occurred within the five boroughs of the City of New York, an additional search must be made for any applicable sections of the New York City Department of Transportation Traffic Rules and Regulations,4 a more detailed and specific set of rules uniquely formatted to apply only to the city. While the regulations do not rise to the level of a statute, nonetheless, a violation of a regulation is considered “some evidence” of negligence and will be charged as such to the jury.5
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