Duty of care Definition

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GLOSSARY

What does Duty of care mean?

A duty of care refers to the circumstances and relationships giving rise to an obligation upon a defendant to take proper care to avoid causing some form of foreseeable harm to the claimant in all the circumstances of the case in question.

Once a claimant has established the necessary duty of care owed by the defendant, determined pursuant to various legal tests and depending on the nature of the case, and proven loss or injury that was foreseeable and which stemmed from a failure to take appropriate care in the particular circumstances of the case, the defendant could be liable to pay damages to a party who was injured or who suffered loss as a result of that breach of duty.

View the related checklists about Duty of care

Perfecting security in real estate finance transactions—checklist

Perfecting security in real estate finance transactions—checklist This Checklist sets out the steps which property lawyers need to take to perfect security in a real estate finance transaction. Real estate finance lenders will typically want to take a full security package over all of the assets relating to the real estate. A real estate lawyer in a multi-disciplinary team will likely be responsible for arranging or inputting into the following securities and documentation: • security over the land, rental income, insurance proceeds, development and construction and contractual rights • reviewing the management agreement and negotiating a duty of care agreement (although in a multi-disciplinary team, this is sometimes handled by the banking and finance lawyer) • dealing with completion undertakings and post completion registration of the legal charge at Companies House and HM Land Registry as well as giving third party notices regarding rent payment, notice of charge where necessary of assignment of contractual rights or warranties See Practice Notes: Security in real estate finance transactions, Taking security over land...

Negotiating repair obligations in Scottish commercial leases—checklist

Negotiating repair obligations in Scottish commercial leases—checklist At common law a landlord, in comparison to a tenant, has quite onerous obligations in so far as the maintenance and repair of a let premises is concerned, see Practice Note: Repair clauses in commercial leases in Scotland—Repair under the common law. In commercial leases, it is almost universal practice for the landlord to seek to divest itself of all common law repairing obligations in relation to the premises let to the tenant (but not the common parts in multi-let buildings, see Practice Note: Service charge and outgoing provisions in commercial leases in Scotland). As such, commercial leases typically impose significant repairing obligations on the tenant. The most common form of commercial lease is a full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease where the tenant is responsible for all repairs of whatever nature with the exception of insured risk damage, see Practice Note: Repair clauses in commercial leases in Scotland—Contracting out of the common law—the full repairing and insuring (FRI) Lease and The modern...

Breach of the duty of care in personal injury claims

The reasonable person testOnce a court has determined that a common law duty of care exists between the parties, the next stage is for the claimant to prove that the defendant has breached this duty ie the defendant’s conduct has fallen below the standard of care required. Although expert evidence may be obtained this is usually a question of fact. For guidance on whether a duty of care is owed, see Practice Note: Duty of care in personal injury claims.In assessing whether the defendant has breached the duty of care, the court will normally use the reasonable person test ie what would the reasonable person have done, or not done, in the circumstances of this particular incident. For guidance on breach of duty in clinical negligence claims, see Practice Note: Duty of care and breach in clinical negligence claims.When considering the standard of care required of the defendant, the court may consider:•the capacity of the defendant eg age—see below•whether the claimant gave consent—see below•the cost and difficulty of the defendant...

Duty of care in personal injury claims

This Practice Note will consider the common law duty of care. For information on statutory duties, see Practice Note: Breach of statutory duty and the overlap with the common law.For breach of duty of care, see Practice Note: Breach of the duty of care in personal injury claims.For guidance on vicarious liability, see Practice Notes: Nature and operation of vicarious liability, Scope and impact of vicarious liability and Vicarious liability in the course of employment—the close connection test.For information on the duty of care in clinical negligence claims, see Practice Note: Duty of care and breach in clinical negligence claims.For a claimant to succeed in proving their claim in common law negligence they must first prove that the defendant owed them a duty of care.Examples of established relationshipsWhen assessing whether a duty of care exists, the court will consider whether there is an established precedent for the relationship between the parties and follow the precedents unless it is necessary to consider whether they should be departed from.Common examples of situations...

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Witness statement in support of a misfeasance claim under section 212 of the Insolvency Act 1986

Witness statement in support of a misfeasance claim under section 212 of the Insolvency Act 1986 Applicant(s): [insert initials and surname] [insert number of witness statement eg 1st] Exhibit: [insert exhibit description] Date: [insert date of witness statement] CASE NO: [insert case number] [ IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES INSOLVENCY AND COMPANIES LIST (ChD) OR IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS IN [insert location] INSOLVENCY AND COMPANIES LIST (ChD) OR IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE CHANCERY DIVISION [insert location] DISTRICT REGISTRY OR IN THE COUNTY COURT AT [insert location] ] IN THE MATTER OF [insert company’s name] AND IN THE MATTER OF THE INSOLVENCY ACT 1986 BETWEEN [Insert name(s) of the aPPLICANT(s)] Applicant(s) AND [Insert name(s) of the respondent(s)] Respondent(s) [INSERT NUMBER] Witness statement of [Insert name OF OFFICE-HOLDER] I, [insert name of the office-holder] of [insert the office-holder's business address] WILL SAY as follows:...

Ireland—Legal due diligence report—private M&A—share purchase

This report is a template legal due diligence report for use in connection with a proposed share purchase, to be prepared by the buyer's solicitors on the instructions of the buyer. This is a standard, long form (or detailed) report, which comprises a detailed review of the target group and its business. An ‘exceptions’ report is a shorter version of this report that details only exceptional matters of particular relevance to the proposed transaction and importance to the client generally. This may be preferable for the client in the circumstances of the transaction (eg there is a limited time available to conduct the review or the client has sufficient information on the target). However, clear instructions should be taken to ensure that the correct form of the report is prepared. Ireland—Legal due diligence report—private M&A—share purchase Project [insert project name] Prepared for [Insert addressee name] [Insert date of report] INDEX Report A. Introduction B. Executive summary C. Detailed report 1 Corporate and structural matters 2 Business and trading arrangements 3...

Dive into our 76 Precedents related to Duty of care

Who is responsible for an occupier's liability claim when the accident occurred in premises subject to a lease? The tenant company had ceased trading before the accident and a new tenant company had not entered into a new lease agreement with the landlord.

Who is responsible for an occupier's liability claim when the accident occurred in premises subject to a lease? The tenant company had ceased trading before the accident and a new tenant company had not entered into a new lease agreement with the landlord. This Q&A considers who may qualify as an occupier under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA 1957). OLA 1957 contains no definition of an ‘occupier’. The issue of who is an occupier is dealt with under the common law. It is important to recognise that the key issue is of control over, rather than ownership of, the premises. An occupier is any legal entity with a sufficient degree of control over premises such that it can properly be considered to be an occupier (see Wheat v E Lacon). The key element is that the occupier has effective control. There is no requirement for the occupier to have a legal interest in the land. There can be multiple occupiers of premises at any given time. It has...

If a claimant receives negligent home care, is this considered clinical negligence?

If a claimant receives negligent home care, is this considered clinical negligence? Duty of care Duties to patients in contract: Butterworths Personal Injury Litigation Service [211] states: ‘Where a health professional undertakes private practice, a contractual relationship is likely to arise between the patient and the health professional. In the absence of an express term to the contrary, a term will be implied into that contract that the service will be performed with reasonable care and skill. In the case of private hospital treatment, most doctors undertake such services as independent contractors. Thus, for example, there may be separate contractual relationships in respect of the provision of nursing care, resident medical officers and laboratory services.’ Duties to patients in tort: Butterworths Personal Injury Litigation Service [215]: states: ‘A duty to exercise reasonable care and skill is imposed on a health professional who undertakes the tasks of diagnosis, advice or treatment. The duty exists independent of any contractual duty that may exist. The duty arises once the patient is accepted for...

See the 211 Q&As about Duty of care

PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights—14 November 2024

This week's edition of PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights includes news of the DHSC’s new package of zero-tolerance NHS reforms and minutes of the latest CPR committee meeting. We have two High Court decisions on a clinical negligence claim where allegations of fundamental dishonesty were rejected and a ‘hazardous kerb’ cycling accident claim which failed on appeal. We also include our usual roundup of news, cases and New Law Journal articles of interest.

Insurance & Reinsurance weekly highlights—14 November 2024

This week's edition of Insurance & Reinsurance weekly highlights includes: Insurers urge shared approach to define major cyber-events; Young drivers buying fake insurance, Aviva says; Global M&A insurance claims slumped by 21% in 2023; FCA fines and bans director for misusing insurer funds and misleading regulator; EIOPA consults on mass-lapse reinsurance and termination clauses to enhance risk mitigation guidance; EIOPA publishes final report on prudential treatment of sustainability risks; cases and decisions; key dates for your diary; and other news highlights reported over the past week.

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