What Is the Duty of Care?

Duty of care is a legal term used to describe a standard of behavior that is expected of a person or organization. Such standards will generally vary depending upon the roles of the individuals in a given relationship. This term can apply, however, to standards in a wide range of situations. Often, there are laws that hold people responsible for actions that are considered unreasonable given the situation. The principle supporting duty of care is generally sensibility.

Societies that allow legal remedy for duty of care generally do so with the intention of discouraging recklessness and intentional harm or suffering. In these societies, people are expected to act reasonably when dealing with other people. Generally, when a person claims that another party has violated the duty of care, a court makes a determination based upon the way that most reasonable individuals would have acted in the same circumstances.

The relationship between two parties greatly affects duty of care because how one party treats another is affected by their roles. For example, if a man knows that his wife is hurt, he is expected to act differently than a stranger would act if the stranger knows the same woman is hurt. In some societies, duties are imposed upon strangers in situations such as this. In other societies, however, a person is not obligated to assist a stranger even if he knows that the situation the stranger is in could be life-threatening.

Expectations of how a person should act are also affected when the relationship that exists between two parties is a professional one. When a professional, such as doctor or lawyer, is accused of violating her duty of care, she may be sued for negligence. A doctor, for example, has a duty to treat her patients with the competence and efficiency of her peers. If she does not, and her actions result in harm, she may be found guilty on the grounds that she did not fulfill her duty of care.

Such standards can exist in situations other than those that involve two individuals. It may be found that a business neglected its duty to another business. It is also possible for a party to violate standards of care regarding things such as animals or the environment.

Since duty of care is generally a tort, a person is not usually incarcerated if a court finds that she did not act sensibly. In many cases, the consequences involve the payment of damages. There may also be professional repercussions, such as the loss of licensing or the forced closure of a business.