There are many important legal concepts in personal injury law that allow a plaintiff to establish a defendant’s responsibility for their damages. One of these principles is known as the duty of care. Understanding what a duty of care is and how it applies in your personal injury case is imperative in protecting your legal rights and options. For more information and to obtain skilled legal advice during your case, reach out to a Pikeville, KY personal injury lawyer today.
What is a Duty of Care?
A duty of care is a legal obligation requiring individuals or organizations to act with reasonable care to avoid causing foreseeable harm to others. This standard is based on the idea that people should avoid behavior that is likely to injure or harm someone else and instead act responsibly to avoid these types of damages. In general, all people owe others a duty of care, within reason. However, certain relationships between individuals can create a stricter duty.
Examples of duty of care include the following.
- A new homeowner invites a friend over for dinner while the house is still under construction. The property owner has a duty of care to warn the visitor about any potential dangers or close off the area to avoid accidents and injuries.
- A driver is approaching a red light at an intersection. They owe the surrounding road users a duty of care to obey traffic laws and let those with the right of way go, to avoid causing an accident.
- An employer finds a leak in the ceiling of the workplace. They owe their employees a duty of care to rope off the area, warn the employees about the danger, and take reasonable action to rectify the issue.
In these scenarios, a relationship has been established that obligates one individual to take reasonable action to prevent harm to the other. The duty of care applies when it is predictable that a person’s action or inaction could cause harm to another. The standard of care is what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances to prevent an accident or damage.
How Does Duty of Care Impact a Personal Injury Case?
In a personal injury case, the duty of care plays an important role in establishing negligence. Negligence is often the basis for liability, which is critical when seeking compensation for damages. The four elements of negligence must be proven before an insurance company or jury will award compensation. Consider the following.
- The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care
- The defendant breached the duty of care by failing to meet reasonable standards of care
- The breach of duty directly caused or contributed to the accident and injury suffered by the plaintiff
- The plaintiff incurred compensable damages as a result
Establishing a duty of care is the first step in proving negligence and securing compensation in a personal injury case. For more information, reach out to an experienced attorney today.
