# Duty of care

> Duty of care is the legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward others. Every driver owes it, and breaking it is the core of a negligence claim.

Canonical page: https://accidentclaimfacts.com/glossary/duty-of-care/  
Last reviewed: October 29, 2026 by the Accident Claim Facts editorial team  
General information, not legal advice. Talk to a licensed attorney in your state.

## Quick answer

Duty of care is the legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward others so you don't cause them harm. Every driver owes it to everyone else on the road: other drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.

## In a car accident claim

Duty is the first of four elements of a negligence claim. The others are a breach of that duty, causation and damages. Whether a duty exists is a legal question for the court, but for drivers it is rarely in dispute. The real fight is usually over breach: did the driver fail to act as a reasonably careful driver would?

Common breaches include speeding, texting, running a red light, following too closely and failing to yield. Traffic laws help define what reasonable care means, and in some states breaking one can count as negligence per se. Duties are not limited to drivers: a trucking company, a car owner who lends a car, or a bar that serves alcohol may owe duties of its own. Our guide to [car accidents](https://accidentclaimfacts.com/accidents/car-accidents/) walks through how each element is proven, and the [accident types hub](https://accidentclaimfacts.com/accidents/) covers the special rules for trucks, motorcycles and more.

## Example

> **Example:** A driver looks down at a phone while approaching a crosswalk and hits a pedestrian. The driver owed the pedestrian a duty of care. Looking at the phone instead of the road is the breach, and the pedestrian's broken leg and medical bills are the harm the breach caused.

## Related terms

- [Negligence](https://accidentclaimfacts.com/glossary/negligence/)
- [Causation](https://accidentclaimfacts.com/glossary/causation/)
- [Gross negligence](https://accidentclaimfacts.com/glossary/gross-negligence/)
- [Right of way](https://accidentclaimfacts.com/glossary/right-of-way/)

## FAQ

### Who decides whether a duty of care exists?

The judge. Whether one person owed another a duty is treated as a question of law. Whether the person met that duty is usually a question of fact for the jury.

### Do pedestrians and cyclists owe a duty of care too?

Yes. Everyone using the road must act with reasonable care. If a pedestrian's or cyclist's own carelessness helped cause a crash, it can reduce or, in a few places, bar their recovery.

## Sources

- [Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, Wex: duty of care](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/duty_of_care) — general definition
- [Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, Wex: negligence](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/negligence) — the elements of a negligence claim