What You Should Know About Duty Of Care In Personal Injury Cases

Duty Of Care

Duty of care is a legal obligation that requires individuals and organizations to act reasonably to prevent harm or injury to others. Note that it is a legal obligation, not a moral one.

Examples Of Duty Of Care

A property owner should take the necessary precautions to keep visitors safe. These include cleaning spills, having adequate lighting, avoiding clutter on the floor, and ensuring their dog is trained and leashed, among other measures.

Additionally, road users owe each other a duty of care. A driver should obey road signs and traffic signals, overtake safely, yield to others, observe speed limits, be aware of their surroundings, keep their vehicle well maintained, not tailgate, and not drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

Furthermore, a manufacturer should only put quality products on the market. They owe consumers a duty of care. Distributors, suppliers, and retailers should also confirm that the products they receive from a manufacturer are in good condition. 

In the medical field, all healthcare professionals, from physicians to the administration, should provide standard care to patients. A physician should provide a patient with the right diagnosis and on time, treat them properly, provide the patient with the right medications, and refer them to a specialist if need be. 

In the delivery room, a doctor should monitor an expectant mother to identify complications sooner. The doctor should also order a cesarean section on time when necessary and use tools correctly during birth. 

In the operating room, a surgeon should provide surgical treatment when clinically indicated (without delay), administer the right amount of anesthesia, perform surgery on the correct body part, perform the right procedure, and appropriately manage infection risk at the surgical site.

If the conduct of someone who owes you a duty of care harms you, consider filing a personal injury claim to protect your rights.

How Duty Of Care Is Established

So, how is a duty of care responsibility between parties established?

In some cases, duty of care occurs automatically. For example, all road users should conduct themselves in a manner that does not put others at risk. This also applies to manufacturers and sellers.

However, in other cases, the nature of the relationship between parties creates a duty of care — there has to be a relationship of proximity. For example, healthcare professionals do not owe you a duty of care until they agree to provide you with medical care. A surgeon in a hospital where you are being treated may not owe you a duty of care until you need their services and they agree to provide them.

Other factors that are usually considered when determining whether or not a duty of care occurred between parties are:

• Foreseeability: If it’s likely someone’s action can lead to harm, and it’s possible to tell how severe the harm may be, then the circumstance is foreseeable. For instance, it is foreseeable that a spill on the floor can cause a slip and fall, which can harm someone’s head, neck, or back.
• Burden: Duty of care may not require the “highest degree of care.” If someone needs to spend so much money or effort to prevent harm, such a scenario may not establish a duty of care. Essentially, this is when the burden is higher than the probability of an injury combined with the severity of the resulting injury.
• External indicators: Examples of external indicators considered when determining duty of care are statutory/regulatory standards, industry practice, and customs.

All these factors may need to be met to establish a duty of care. For example, foreseeable harm may not be enough to build a case if the burden to prevent it was so high that a reasonable person would not have achieved it. 

A plaintiff needs to gather solid evidence to strengthen their personal injury lawsuit.

Limited Duty Of Care

Some cases involve limited duty of care. A good example is the duty of care of landowners. 

Property owners do not owe trespassers a duty of care unless they harm them wilfully or deliberately. For instance, if a dog bites a trespasser, the property owner may not be liable for the injuries the trespasser suffers. However, if the property owner is present and allows the dog to bite the trespasser, perhaps by unleashing it, they may be held liable if the trespasser is injured.

A licensee, such as a door-to-door salesperson or a delivery person, can only be compensated by the landowner if they suffer damages due to the dangers created by the landowner that the landowner actually knew about and when the landowner fails to warn of dangers they are aware of even though they didn’t create the dangerous conditions. These dangers are ordinarily not present on that type of property.

When it comes to invitees (people invited onto the property by the property owner), the property owner can be held liable if an invitee is harmed by a dangerous condition that the owner knew or should have known about. 

What We Can Do For You

If you experience a duty of care breach and sustain injuries, you need to work with a Colorado personal injury attorney to obtain vital evidence to build a strong case and, in turn, be compensated for the damages you suffer. Our lawyers will offer the support you need during such a difficult time. Contact us to learn more about your case. 

Sources: 

Concerning Clarifying Certain Terms as the Terms Relate to a Landowner’s Liability. (2022).

Duty of Care: Exploring the Duty of Care in Tort Law. (2024).

Negligence. (2023).

What Is Medical Malpractice? (n.d.).