Duty of Care
The term ‘duty of care’ refers to the legal obligation to take reasonable care not to injure or harm another person. This extends to personal injury or death, damage to property, and economic loss.
If a person fails to exercise reasonable care they will likely be found negligent and therefore liable for the injury or harmed sustained.
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Negligence and Duty of Care in NSW
The Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) governs negligence law in NSW. For negligence to be established, three key elements must be proven:
- the risk of harm was foreseeable
- the risk was not insignificant
- a reasonable person in the same position would have taken steps to prevent the harm
When the court considers whether a duty of care has been breached, it looks at the likelihood of harm occurring, how serious the harm could be, the burden of taking precautions, and the nature of the relationship between the parties.
Who Owes a Duty of Care?
A duty of care arises in many everyday situations, including relationships between:
- employers and employees
- doctors or hospitals and patients
- schools and students
- occupiers of premises and people entering those premises
- road users and other road users
These relationships are well‑established in Australian law and form the basis of many personal injury claims.
Common Duty of Care Situations
Doctor and Patient
Doctors owe a comprehensive duty of care to their patients. This includes proper diagnosis, treatment, advice and warnings about risks and possible outcomes. Hospitals also owe a duty to provide reasonable medical care. A failure to meet these standards may amount to medical negligence.
School and Student
Schools must take reasonable care for the safety and wellbeing of students under their supervision. This duty extends to both physical and psychological harm. For example, if young children are left unsupervised and a student is injured, the school may be found negligent.
Occupiers of Premises
Owners or occupiers of property must take reasonable steps to ensure their premises are safe. This includes preventing foreseeable hazards such as spills, trip hazards or unsafe structures. If a supermarket does not lean up a spill within a reasonable time and someone is injured, the occupier may have breached their duty of care.
Public Liability
A duty of care also applies to public places such as footpaths, parks and public infrastructure. Claims against councils and government bodies can be more complex because the Civil Liability Act provides additional protections. To succeed, you generally need to show the authority had actual knowledge of the hazard — for example, previous complaints about a damaged footpath.
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Find out more about Public Liability
Dog Bite Compensation
If you have been bitten or attacked by a dog and have suffered injury, you may be eligible to make a claim for compensation against the owner of the dog.The owner of the animal is strictly responsible for any damage the dog has caused in accordance with the Companion Animal Act NSW 1998.
Assault & Sexual Assault
If you are assaulted or sexually assaulted, you may be eligible to make a claim with our assault lawyers for any injury sustained either physical or psychological.
Occupiers Liability
If you are injured whilst on someone else’s property, this is sometimes known as an occupier’s liability claim. Examples of such claims are slips, trips and falls in supermarkets or shopping centres, injuries sustained on leased premises, injuries in car parks, injuries in hotels or clubs, injuries on building sites or injuries on any premises that are owned or leased by someone else.
Civil Liability
Garling and Co can help you with your civil liability claim. We’ve put together a fact sheet below that addresses some of our frequently asked questions but if you have any other concerns about civil liability, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our expert team today.
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