Negligence per se is negligence due to the violation of a public duty under a law that defines the failure of care required to constitute negligence. For example, driving laws may specify that exceeding a certain rate of speed is legally negligent. Negligence per se may also be declared when a person does or omits to do something which is so beyond reasonable behavior standards that it is negligent on its face. . For instance, when a doctor leaves a sponge inside a patient, his actions are inherently negligent.