Duty of Care – Has this been breached? Have you suffered as a result?

Personal injury is the term used for an injury, which has been caused by someone else or a negligent act or omission. Examples of this could include road traffic accidents, slips and trips, incidents in the workplace or in a public place.

When considering any personal injury claim the first most important element to consider is who or what is to blame and if there has been a breach of duty of care. This is called Liability.

Before we consider breach of duty of care, we need to understand what is meant by duty of care? The legal definition of duty of care is the legal or moral responsibility to protect the safety and wellbeing of others, which includes taking all reasonable steps not to cause foreseeable harm to another person or their property.

The main requirements in establishing liability in a personal injury claim are;

1. The negligent party must owe a duty of care to the claimant
2. The negligent party must have breached that duty of care
3. The claimant must have sustained an injury, damage and/or loss as a result of the negligent parties’ breach of duty of care

The duty of care owed will depend on whether the negligent party could have reasonably foreseen that the injured party would have sustained an injury by their negligent act. The duty of care is not just limited to what the negligent party knows, but also what they should know.

The claimant must demonstrate that the negligent party has breached their duty of care and the burden of proof sits with the claimant to support their allegations and their claim. There must be a breach of duty and a causal link between the breach of duty and the injury sustained.

Please understand that under the Limitation Act 1980 you have only 3 years from the date of accident to either settle your claim for damages or to have issued a summons in relation to your claim for pain and suffering. Should you fail to do either your claim will become statute barred, effectively withdrawing any entitlement you have to reimbursement of the losses.

If you have suffered a personal injury in the last 3 years and would like us to bring a claim for damage or losses sustained, then please do get in contact with the experienced team at Youngs Law today.