Duty of Care

A duty of care is a legal obligation to act with reasonable caution so you don't cause harm to others. In an injury case, showing that the defendant owed the injured person a duty of care is the first thing that must be established before negligence can be proven. Whether a duty exists depends on the relationship between the parties and whether the harm was foreseeable.

Origin

The concept grew out of English and American common law. Its modern formulation is often traced to the 1932 British case Donoghue v. Stevenson, where the "neighbour principle" held that people must take reasonable care to avoid acts likely to injure those who could foreseeably be affected.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For an asbestos patient, the duty of care is the foundation of a negligence claim against a manufacturer, employer, or property owner. Companies that made or used asbestos products had a duty to warn workers and consumers about hazards they knew or should have known about. Establishing that duty, and then showing the company breached it by failing to warn or protect, is central to the case. Defendants sometimes argue they owed no duty because the danger wasn't known at the time, which is why evidence of what the industry knew and when it knew it matters so much.

Example Sentence

Our attorney explained that the insulation manufacturer owed my father a duty of care and breached it by selling pipe covering without any warning label.

Related Terms

Negligence, Breach of Duty, Failure to Warn, Foreseeability, Standard of Care, Product Liability

Notes

• Ask your legal team which defendants owed you a duty (manufacturer, employer, or premises owner), since each may be analyzed differently.
• Preserve employment records and product information that show where and when you encountered asbestos.
• Corporate documents showing what a company knew about asbestos hazards help establish both duty and breach.