Why Duty of Care Is Crucial in a Personal Injury Claim

In a personal injury claim, duty of care is a critical element. It is a legal obligation to take reasonable care not to cause harm to others. For your claim to be successful, you must show you were owed a duty of care by the other party and that it was breached by causing you injury.

Our Fort Worth personal injury lawyers discuss duty of care and its importance in personal injury claims. We can help establish if the at-fault party breached its duty of care by causing the accident that resulted in your injury as we work to pursue maximum compensation. If you were injured by the negligent or careless actions of another, please contact us now for a free, no obligation consultation.

How to Establish Duty of Care in a Texas Lawsuit

People legally owe a duty of care to others to act in a reasonable manner to avoid causing injury. This is a normal duty of care that is relevant in most situations.

The law also places a duty of care on certain people, such as professionals:

• Motorists owe a duty of care to prevent harm to others on the road by driving with reasonable care, obeying traffic laws and operating their vehicles in a safe manner.
• Medical professionals owe a duty of care in providing treatment. They are expected to act as any other reasonable person would act under the circumstances while delivering the professionalism and knowledge a reasonable doctor would offer in the situation.
• Manufacturers, distributors and sellers of consumer products owe a duty of care to make and sell products that do not pose unexpected or unreasonable dangers to consumers.

For a personal injury lawsuit to be successful, the first important element is to establish that the victim was owed a duty of care by the other party under the circumstances that resulted in injury. If you were owed a duty of care, that duty must have been breached, and that breach must have contributed to or caused your injury.

Instances Where Duty of Care is Breached

A breach of duty of care may result in serious injuries. Examples of breached duty of care include:

• Slip and fall accidents – A business knows about a spill in an aisle but fails to clean it up or place warning signs. A customer slips and falls because of the spill and is injured. The business breached the owed duty of care by failing to keep the business free of known hazards in the interest of safety.
• Premises liability– A dangerous hazard is present on someone’s property. The property owner fails to remedy this hazard because he or she does not discover it in a reasonable amount of time. Someone who has permission to be on the property is injured by this hazard. The property owner breached his or her duty of care by failing to discover and remedy the danger.
• Medical malpractice – A doctor makes a surgical error or misdiagnoses a patient’s condition, while another similarly skilled physician would not have made this mistake. The doctor has breached his or her duty of care to the patient by failing to provide treatment at the same skill level and care of another reasonably skilled healthcare professional.
• Product liability – A consumer is injured by a product that is inherently dangerous by design or due to a manufacturing error. The manufacturer, distributor, or seller has breached their duty of care to produce and sell products free of unexpected or unreasonable hazards.

Have Questions? We Can Help

If you were injured due to a breach of duty of care, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Our team can investigate your case and estimate the value of your personal injury claim to help you pursue the maximum compensation you deserve.

Request a free, no obligation consultation today and learn what legal options may be available in your case. We charge no upfront fees and payment is only owed if we recover compensation for you.

Call (817) 920-9000 or complete our Free Case Evaluation form now.