Duty Of Care Definition

In the context of tort law, duty of care is the obligation that one party has to take reasonable care to avoid causing injury or loss to another party. The standard of care that is required depends on the relationship between the parties and the nature of the activity that they are engaged in. For example, a doctor owes a higher duty of care to their patient than a member of the public does to another member of the public.

The concept of duty of care has been developed over time by common law courts in a number of different countries. In Australia, the High Court set out the general principles of duty of care in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson. In this case, it was held that a manufacturer owed a duty of care to consumers of their products to take reasonable steps to ensure that those products were safe for use.

The principles from this case have been applied in many other cases since, and have been used to develop the modern law on negligence. If you can show that someone owed you a duty of care and they breached that duty, causing you harm, then you may be able to bring a claim for damages against them.