Duty

Duty is the assumption that a person has the responsibility towards another person not to cause harm. Duty is a standard which must be proven to win an injury claim. All individuals owe a duty of care to other persons to not cause them harm, but some individuals, such as a doctor, have a different level of duty for their patients.

In an injury claim you can win compensation if you can prove someone breached their duty, their breach was the proximate cause of your injuries and you have suffered loss or injury from the breach of duty.

Medical malpractice cases are won if a patient can prove the doctor breached their duty of care and their breach caused injury. Personal injury cases such as a car accidents can be won if one driver can prove another driver was negligent (breached their duty) and this negligence caused injury. For example, if a driver runs a stop sign and that action causes another driver's injury, the injured drive may be able to sue for damages. The driver breached their duty when they did not follow the driving laws and regulations of their state.