Duty of Care

Plain Explanation

A duty of care is a legal obligation to take reasonable steps to avoid causing harm to others. If you have a duty of care towards someone and you fail to meet that duty, and they are harmed as a result, you may be liable in negligence.

Legal Meaning

In legal terms, a duty of care is the first element that must be established in a negligence claim. It is a legal relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff that obliges the defendant to exercise reasonable care to avoid foreseeable harm. The duty of care concept was established by the House of Lords in Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] through the 'neighbour principle'. In Australia, the High Court has developed this further, establishing that a duty of care exists where there is a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm and no policy considerations that negate the duty.

Case References

• • Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 — established the neighbour principle
• • Sullivan v Moody (2001) 207 CLR 562 — salient features test for duty of care in Australia
• • Perre v Apand Pty Ltd (1999) 198 CLR 180 — duty of care for pure economic loss

Examples

• • Doctors owe a duty of care to their patients to provide treatment that meets the standard of a reasonable practitioner
• • Employers owe a duty of care to their employees to provide a safe working environment
• • Manufacturers owe a duty of care to end consumers of their products

Common Confusion Points

• • A duty of care does not mean a guarantee of safety — it means taking reasonable steps
• • Not everyone owes a duty of care to everyone — the duty arises in specific legal relationships
• • A breach of duty of care alone does not establish liability — causation and damage must also be proved