Duty Of Care

When you pick up after your dog. Wait...that's "care of doody."

"Duty of care" is a legal concept that helps to determine when negligence happens. It's basically a golden rule-type deal, though slightly altered. Instead of "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you," the concept takes as its centerpiece what a "reasonable" person would do.

Under tort law, each person has to act with a certain amount of attention and care for others. Specifically, they have to give a "reasonable" amount of care. Exactly what that means in any particular situation would ultimately get decided by a judge or a jury (depending on the case).