A duty of care is a legal obligation to act in a manner that protects others from harm. Everyone in Kentucky has a legal duty to act in a reasonably safe manner. The specific duty you owe to others depends on the situation and circumstances.
The duty of care plays an important role in personal injury claims, as most cases are based on negligence. When someone breaches their duty and harms another person, the injured victim may be able to hold that person legally responsible for their injuries. Keep reading below to learn everything you need to know about the duty of care in Kentucky.
How Does a Duty of Care Affect My Personal Injury Claim?
A duty of care exists as a matter of public safety. Without a legal duty of care, you would be under no obligation to prevent harm to others. Negligence is the center of most personal injury claims.
The legal elements of negligence are:
- Duty of care: A legal obligation requiring you to act in a reasonably safe manner to avoid harming others.
- Breach of duty: A breach occurs when someone fails to uphold a reasonable standard of conduct.
- Causation: The correlation between the defendant’s conduct and your injuries. “But for” the defendant’s actions, you would not have been harmed.
- Damages: The victim suffered some damages, such as physical injuries, medical bills, pain and suffering, or more.
The first step in winning your personal injury claim is proving the duty of care. While it is usually easy to prove that a duty of care existed, proving the specific duty that was owed can be more challenging.
How Is a Duty of Care Established?
A duty of care can arise from laws, professional standards, or the general expectation that people will act reasonably to avoid harming others. The specific duty depends on the situation and the relationship between the parties involved.
For example, drivers have a duty to obey traffic laws and operate their vehicles safely. A driver who speeds or texts behind the wheel may breach that duty by creating an unreasonable risk of harm to others.
What Is the “Reasonable Person” Standard?
Sometimes, a duty of care is clearly defined by law, such as traffic rules that require drivers to obey speed limits or stop at red lights. In other situations, courts apply the “reasonable person” standard. This means a person is expected to act as a reasonably careful person would under similar circumstances.
If a negligence case goes to trial, the jury typically decides whether the defendant acted reasonably after considering all the facts surrounding the incident.
Does the Duty of Care Depend on the Situation?
Yes. The duty of care can vary depending on the person’s experience, training, or profession. For example, in a medical malpractice case, a physician must provide care that meets the accepted medical standard for someone with similar training and experience.
A specialist with decades of experience may be held to a different standard than a newer physician practicing general medicine. The court considers these circumstances when deciding whether the duty of care was met.
Breaching the Duty of Care
The duty of care is breached whenever someone fails to uphold the legally required standard of care. This may be done either through action or inaction. There are many different ways and scenarios in which the duty of care may be breached.
Some common examples are:
Vehicle Accidents
Imagine that a careless driver fails to look before turning out into traffic. They pull out directly in front of another vehicle and cause a car accident. They have breached their duty of care owed to other drivers to operate their vehicle in a safe manner.
Premises Liability
Property owners owe a duty of care to visitors to keep their property in a reasonably safe condition. Imagine that a property owner is aware of broken steps on the property, but they fail to repair them or even place a warning sign. They have breached their duty of care through inaction, and a premises liability lawsuit may be appropriate.
Medical Malpractice
Suppose a surgeon performs surgery on a patient and leaves a medical instrument inside the patient’s body because they were rushing to finish. A reasonable surgeon would not have made this mistake, so the surgeon has breached their duty to the patient.
When a breach of duty causes harm, the defendant may be legally on the hook for all the damages their breach caused.
Contact the Louisville Personal Injury Lawyers at Hendy Johnson Vaughn for Help Today
If you have been injured because another person breached the duty of care, you may be able to recover significant compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. You need an experienced attorney who can help you prove that the duty of care was breached.
The team at Hendy Johnson Vaughn has decades of combined experience helping injury victims pursue the compensation they deserve. Contact us today at (502) 540 5700 to schedule a free consultation with a Louisville personal injury attorney and let us go to work for you.