Statutes and Tort Law

In tort law, the burden of proof is solely on the plaintiff. They are required to establish all four elements (duty, breach, causation, and damages) of the tort. This burden falls into two categories:

Burden of Production
This occurs before the case is ever brought before a jury. The plaintiff must make a compelling production of evidence regarding the four elements. If the plaintiff is unconvincing, a judge may throw the case out. The burden of production is a matter of law, not fact.

Burden of Persuasion
A matter of fact. The plaintiff must convince the jury of the facts as they are set out.

How do statutes apply to tort law?
We often use The Reasonable Person/Professional to determine standards of care. Statutes can be used as well. For example, it is illegal to set someone's house on fire. Therefore a reasonable person would not set their neighbor's house on fire. The use of statutes in civil proceedings differ with each jurisdiction. Ohio sometimes uses negligence per se, which means that criminal statutes can satisfy duty and breach within the burden of production.

Osborne v. McMasters (1889, Minnesota)

Facts
A woman drank unlabeled poison and died. Her loved ones sued because a clerk failed to label the bottle. A statute making it illegal to sell poison without a label was presented as the defendants duty.

Question
Can the plaintiff argue from a statute in order to establish a standard of care?

Holding
Yes

Reasoning
“It is immaterial whether the duty is one imposed by the rule of common law requiring the exercise of ordinary care not to injure another, or is imposed by a statute designed for the protection of others. In either case the failure to perform the duty constitutes negligence.”

And the winner is…
The plaintiff

summarized from Life of a Law Student