Duty of Care in English Law - Duty of Care

Duty of Care

The first element of negligence is the legal duty of care. This concerns the relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff, which must be such that there is an obligation upon the defendant to take proper care to avoid causing injury to the plaintiff in all the circumstances of the case. There are two ways in which a duty of care may be established:

1. the defendant and claimant are within one of the 'special relationship'; or
2. outside of these relationships, according to the principles developed by case law.

The principles delineated in Caparo V Dickman specify a tripartite test:

1. Was the harm reasonably forseeable?
2. Was there a requisite degree of proximity between the claimant and the defendant
3. Is it fair, just and resonable to impose a duty of care; are there precluding public policy concerns?

There are a number of distinct and recognisable situations in which the courts recognise the existence of a duty of care. Examples include

• one road-user to another
• employer to employee
• manufacturer to consumer
• doctor to patient
• solicitor to client