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Even when harm caused by a wrogdoer is foreseeable, liability for such harm only arises if there exists a 'duty relationship or situation' between the wrongdoer and the person harmed. In other words, a duty of care requires a person to prevent forseeable harm to those persons to whom they are in a duty situation or relationship.
The existence of a duty situation or relationship can be determined in one of two ways:
- Asking whether the case involves a situation or relationship which has been previously recognised as giving rise to a duty of care.
- Applying general principles from which it can be deduced whether or not a duty of care exists in the particular circumstances that have arisen.
These alternatives will be explained in the following pages.
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