First Principles of Business Law

5. Breach of a duty of care

5.2.5. Practicality of avoiding harm

When deciding what obligations are created in particular circumstances by a duty of care, another relevant question is what practical steps can be taken to avoid the potential harm. Consider each of the following arguments. Bearing in mind the facts of the case-study, click on the one that is most likely to succeed.

(a) The law will not oblige a defendant to take impractical measures to avoid harm. But 'practical' does not mean 'convenient', 'easy' or 'commercially affordable'. It means only 'possible', even if the required steps are expensive and inconvenient.

(b) The law will not oblige a defendant to take impractical measures to avoid harm. But what is practical depends on all the relevant factors of the particular case, including considerations of convenience, expense, efficiency and difficulty.