If you suffer a loss due to an accident and decided to make a compensation claim, to understand who is at fault, it is suggested to examine personal injury laws prior to taking action. In Australia, almost everyone shares duties which are enforced to provide public safety. This includes the duties at the traffic, in public places or if practising a profession, medical attendants’ and businesses’ duties. Generally, the party suffering the consequences of someone else’s actions can make a claim and recover their loss with compensation payouts. However, determining the liability isn’t as easy as it sounds and professional support might be needed throughout the process.
Duties of motor vehicle drivers and pedestrians
In the traffic, motor vehicle drivers, cyclists and pedestrians owe a legal duty to avoid actions that can lead to harm to someone else. Such as driving above the accepted speed limits, disobeying the traffic regulations and signs. Although it sounds less likely, pedestrians can also lead to accidents on great scales.
Motor vehicles in Australia are obliged to be covered with TPD insurance, which is designed with a purpose to provide monetary benefits to those suffering health conditions as a result of the insured’s actions. However, the nature of the motor vehicle accidents is quite complicated as on daily basis, many people disregard the rules. For this reason, determining liability for the accident can be hard. In motor vehicle accidents, the victim’s lack of personal care which increased the severity of his/her injuries will also be taken into consideration by the insurer whilst making a decision and can decrease the total amount of compensation.
Pedestrians are also expected to obey the same rules as they also owe a duty to care about others’ wellbeing. Occasions when the pedestrians cross the road while they shouldn’t have been the reason for catastrophic car accidents.
Duty of care in workplaces
Above gaining profits, an employer’s primary duty is to design a workplace away from potential dangers. In workplaces, the most encountered hazards are the unguarded structures, insufficiently equipped workers, unlawfully long working hours, unbalanced objects and outdated equipment. Although the law enforces the employers to provide a safe workplace, from time to time, employer’s can ignore or delay these responsibilities. Many industrial professions involve risk. However, if the employer fails to do their share to provide a safe environment, the employer can be judged for being a reason for an accident.
Duty of care between medical attendants and patients
Professionals owe a similar duty to provide successful and safe treatment to their patients. However, these situations can be harder to be solved and understood as such processes involve many technical terms. The patient should acknowledge that many surgeries and treatments involve risk naturally. For this reason, it has to be certain that the complications wouldn’t arise if a reasonable peer was at duty during the treatment. To evaluate the situation, the decision-making body (which is the insurer or the court) can compare the actions of another peer professional on a similar treatment process with the defendant’s actions and behaviour.
Duties to obey in public places and properties
Duty of care also exists in daily routine. As an example, a business that is in the food sector owes the same duty to their customers/consumers. Their duty includes providing safety for their customers, keeping their products in good conditions and prevent occasions that can lead to harm such as food poisoning. At the same time, businesses such as restaurants and cafeterias should also eliminate risk factors in the environment where they perform a service. Even small neglects can lead to accidents and permanent injuries.