One of the terms you’ll hear if you file a personal injury case in California is “duty of care.” Duty of care just means:
- The responsibility a person or group has to act in a way that keeps others safe.
Duty of care is one of the most confusing things about an accident, but it’s also one of the building blocks of liability–or the legal responsibility for paying for your losses. Even if you know that, the process is still confusing. That’s when our team at Maison Law can help. Reach out today for a free consultation.
How Does Duty of Care Actually Work?
Duty of care is the idea that people are expected to act with basic caution so they don’t put others in harm’s way. The details can change depending on the situation, but ultimately it comes down to what a person or group does–or doesn’t do–and how that factored into the accident:
- Drivers have a duty to stay focused and follow the rules of the road. That means watching traffic, obeying signals and speed limits, and not driving distracted, tired, or impaired. It also means adjusting to conditions—slowing down in the rain, giving extra space in heavy traffic, and driving in a way that doesn’t put others at risk.
- Property owners have a duty to keep their space reasonably safe for people who are allowed to be there. If a step is broken, a railing is loose, or lighting is poor, they’re expected to fix it within a reasonable time. If something can’t be fixed right away, they should warn visitors so no one is caught off guard.
- Businesses have a duty to look out for customer safety in places open to the public. This includes regularly checking for hazards like spills, uneven flooring, or blocked walkways—and taking care of those problems once they’re noticed. When people are invited in every day, the expectation is simple: don’t ignore risks that could easily cause someone to get hurt.
When someone is injured, one of the first questions asked is simple: Should this have been prevented? If the answer is yes—and someone ignored a risk they had a responsibility to take care of—that’s often where legal responsibility begins.
How Does Maison Law Help With Personal Injury Cases in California?
Most injuries happen because someone didn’t take basic steps to keep others safe. Afterward, the big question is often simple: Who should’ve prevented this? That’s where duty of care comes in.
At Maison Law, we help by:
- Explaining who owed you a duty of care and what they were expected to do in your situation—whether that was a driver paying attention or a property owner fixing a known hazard.
- Connecting the dots between that responsibility and what went wrong, using clear evidence that shows how the injury could have been avoided.
- Taking over insurance talks so responsibility doesn’t get shifted onto you or minimized before the full picture is clear.
You shouldn’t have to sort through responsibility questions on your own while you’re healing. We’re here to help you understand what happened, who’s responsible, and what your options are—starting with a free consultation.
