Brown v. Shyne
Court of Appeals of New York
151 N.E. 197 (N.Y. 1926)
Relevant factsFree
Brown (plaintiff) was treated by Shyne (defendant), who practiced chiropractic without a license in violation of New York's Public Health Law, and became paralyzed after nine treatments. At trial, the judge instructed the jury it could find Shyne liable for negligence per se simply based on his statutory violation, rather than requiring proof of ordinary medical malpractice; the jury awarded Brown $10,000, and Shyne appealed.
IssueFree
Whether violating a licensing statute constitutes actionable negligence when the violation itself, rather than some other act of carelessness, was not the proximate cause of the plaintiff's resulting injury.