DUTY OF CARE

The term ‘duty of care’ is difficult to define because a legal definition of the concept is not available. However, it can be understood as a part of the legal concept of ‘negligence’ under tort law. The term ‘negligence’ can be defined as ‘breach of duty of care which results in damages’. Four main factors are necessary while deciding whether or not someone is negligent. They are as follows:

1. Duty of care
2. Standard of care
3. Breach of duty of care
4. Harm or loss

From the above essential factors, it is clear that when a person violates his duty of care by acting negligently, he or she is liable for any harm or loss caused to the other person. 

Duty of care

Duty of care is about an individual's wellbeing. Workplaces such as schools, businesses and voluntary organizations have a moral and a legal obligation to ensure that everyone associated with the establishment is fully protected from any physical harm, either on the establishment’s premises or when engaged in activities relating to the establishment. However, the duty of care is not limited to workplaces. It applies to everyday life as well. Thus, the duty of care can be explained as the legal responsibility of a person or an organization to avoid or omit any behaviour that could reasonably be foreseen to cause harm or injury to others. In simple words, the duty of reasonable care is an obligation to take responsibility and avoid negligence of duty. Also, such a duty of due care exists when someone's actions could reasonably be expected to affect other people. Here, it is pertinent to note that in case of the general duty of care, when someone relies on you to be careful and if that reliance is reasonable, then you owe them a duty of care. Further, it is necessary to understand the nature of the care that is provided and the reasonable circumstances under which such care is provided because failing to exercise the duty of care in that situation may lead to foreseeable injury. To better understand about whom we owe a duty of care to and to understand the nature of such care, it is necessary to look at the following examples of duty of care relationships:

1. Duty of care for employers –

There exists a fiduciary relationship between employers and employees. Thus, employers hold a certain responsibility that expects them to live up to a certain standard of care. Employers must exercise great care while making business decisions to fulfil their fiduciary duty of care. This ethical and legal duty of care requires the employers to make decisions in a reasonably prudent manner. The element of good faith must exist while fulfilling the duty of care.

2. Duty of care for manufacturers –

A manufacturer owes a duty of reasonable care to the consumer. In other words, the manufactured products must be reasonably safe for public use. Also, products must carry warnings about any potential dangers that can result from using the product. For example, an underarm deodorant is safe until it is sprayed in the eyes. This fact must be mentioned in warning label of the underarm deodorant, thus informing the customer of how he can become injured and the steps he can take to prevent this.

3. Duty of care for property owners –

The owner of a property has a duty of care to anyone who comes onto his or her property. The owner must ensure that there are no reasonably foreseen dangers that could affect the visitor. For instance, a store owner has a duty of reasonable care to maintain and clean stairwells in his property to ensure that the customers are not injured. Another example can be that of a house owner who must put up barriers and warning signs around a hole in his or her lawn to avoid causing injury to the visitors. Here, it must be noted that customers receive the highest level of care, while trespassers receive little to none.

4. Solicitor's duty of care to the client –

A solicitor’s duty of care to his client can be referred to as ‘legal duty of care’. The relationship between an attorney and his client is fiduciary in nature and hence a client can successfully sue the attorney for malpractice. However, an attorney who has not yet been appointed does not owe any legal duty of care to the person he has met with as that person is not yet his client. Once the person employs the solicitor for his case, he becomes a client. The solicitor is then responsible for acting in the client’s best interests. A solicitor must take all steps possible to prevent the client from incurring additional damages as the result of his claim.

5. Duty of care for doctors –

A doctor's duty of care to his patient is known as 'medical duty of care'. It is very similar to a legal duty of care. The only difference is that this situation involves doctors instead of solicitors. A doctor-patient relationship is also fiduciary in nature and the doctor is liable for any injuries that can result from his conduct. However, it must be noted that if a patient decides to sue a doctor for negligence, the doctor may not be the only one at fault. The hospital that has hired the doctor can be held liable for the negligence of its employees as the hospital also holds the same medical duty of care standard because it agrees to supervise the actions of the doctor when it hires him or her.

                        One must remember that under certain circumstances a person does not owe a duty to another. In such situations, there is no right to recover damages even if an injury occurs. A lawyer can help you determine whether you owed a duty of care to the person or company that you caused injury to. The nature and level of such duty of care will also be notified to you by the lawyer.