How “Duty of Care” Affects Negligence Claims

People and places of business have a responsibility to act with care towards one another. When you’re spending time in your favorite metro-Atlanta establishments and you’re injured due to the negligence of that responsibility of care, you may be able to recover damages.

When you’re injured by the negligence of another person or business, you may have a valid personal injury claim, but the duty of care must first be established. At Ross Moore Law, our trusted Atlanta-area legal team is here to guide you through your personal injury claim.

Read on to learn more.

What is “Duty of Care?”

The duty of care is defined as a legal obligation placed on an individual, business, or other entity, that requires them to fulfill a standard of reasonable care when performing any act that could potentially cause harm.

To proceed in a personal injury case, your attorney will need to prove that the responsible party breached their duty of care, resulting to your injury.

Types of Duty of Care

There are four different types of duty of care, and in your personal injury case, you will have to prove that one of these four levels of duty have been breached.

Duty to Refrain from Intentional Injury

If you’re injured without justification or reason, or the injury is believed to be intentional, you may have a personal injury case on your hands. For example, if you get punched for what seems to be an unknown reason and your nose gets broken, you could be able to recover damages from this incident.

Duty to Refrain from Negligent Behavior

If a person or place of business creates a preventable risk in a scenario where a risk wouldn’t normally be present, this would constitute as negligent behavior. For example, if a restaurant employee spills a drink, walks away without cleaning it up or using signage to alert customers of the wet floor, and a customer slips, this could be considered negligence.

Duty to Refrain from Reckless Behavior

People and businesses, including first responders, are expected to act with safety and regard for others when performing their work, especially in emergency situations. For example, if you’re involved in an accident caused by a police officer speeding and running red lights with a disregard for others’ safety, you may be able to prove recklessness in a personal injury case.

Strict Liability

Strict liability typically applies to manufacturing defects in products. If someone is injured because of a product defect or by using the product in the way it was intended to be used, the manufacturer is liable without proof of negligence. For example, if you purchase a lawnmower, and it catches fire when you turn it on for the first time, leaving you burned, the fire itself is enough proof that the manufacturer breached its duty of care.

Who Has Duty of Care and its Limits

There are many different situations where a certain role requires a duty of care. Those roles include employers, property owners, drivers, manufacturers, first responders, and even pharmacists. All of these roles require providing a duty of reasonable care for the safety of their patrons, employees, visitors, patients, and customers.

While there is almost always a duty of care to uphold, there are limits to the types of accidents and injuries someone can be held responsible for.

Foreseeability

If an accident or injury occurs due to a hazard, it must be proven that the risk was foreseeable. The danger at hand would need to be seen as predictable to prove a duty of care was breached.

Reasonableness

If the risk was foreseeable, then the party could be legally responsible for taking reasonable measures to prevent the risk from causing injury.

Calculation of Risk

In some cases, the court can weigh preventative measures against the probability of an injury or accident occurring due to negligence. The court may even look at standard practice in similar scenarios and the availability of precautions.

If You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer Near Atlanta, GA, Contact Ross Moore Law Today!

If you’ve been injured due to a breach in a party’s duty of care, Ross Moore Law is here for you. Our metro-Atlanta team of dedicated attorneys will fight for you in the courtroom and help you get the compensation you deserve.

Our team at Ross Moore Law is eager to put our experience to work for you. Call us today or book a consultation online!

Conveniently located in the heart of Atlanta, GA, we are proud to serve clients throughout the surrounding areas of Athens, Alpharetta, Peachtree Corners, Marietta and more! In addition to Georgia clients, we welcome Tennessee clients as well! Get in touch today.

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