Bauman v. Crawford

Fourteen-year-old Bauman (plaintiff) collided at night with a car driven by Crawford (defendant) while riding a bicycle without the headlight required by Washington statute. Bauman sued for his injuries, and Crawford raised contributory negligence. The trial court instructed the jury that violating the headlight statute was negligence per se, while separately holding Bauman to a child's reasonable-care standard, and the jury found for Bauman but reduced his award by 95 percent for contributory negligence. The court of appeals affirmed, and Bauman appealed, arguing negligence per se should not apply to a minor.