The Duty of Care Concept

Not every instance of carelessness resulting in harm will lead to liability in the tort of negligence. Liability is limited by reference to various ‘control devices’ (see 2.2) of which the most significant is the duty of care. To be held liable in negligence, the defendant must first be found to owe the plaintiff a duty of care. In most cases encountered in practice — particularly cases of physical injury suffered in accidents at work or on the roads — the existence of a duty of care will be presumed without argument (see Alcock v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1992] 1 AC 310). The only question will be whether the defendant was in fact negligent (in breach of duty). In such cases, the moral imperative expressed by Lord Atkin in his ‘neighbour principle’ points towards liability on the part of the person at fault.