due care
1
5.0
- noun
- /duː kɛr/
- Formal
:
diligencia debida
- Courts have created these exceptions to the physical injury rule when the defendants have failed to adhere to a duty of due care to prevent a foreseeable injury.
- exercise due care
- duty of due care
- due care standard
Examples
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The key factor is whether the harm to the plaintiff was reasonably foreseeable if the contract was not executed with due care.
Academic text (2008) -
Analysis: As a driver on the public freeway, John owed a duty of due care not to pass a car when double yellow lines divide the road.
Academic text (1990) -
Although it may not be serious, due care must be taken to protect Roger from any potential assault.
Blog text (32) -
If one need not prove a defendant's failure to take due care, a plaintiff's failure to do so would not be relevant either.
Academic text (1998) -
It's also a cautionary tale of the dangers of using Internet social media without due care and attention.
Blog text (24) -
The Biakanja decision sets out a test that balances several factors to determine the duty of due care.
Academic text (1990) -
In Union Oil, the court found that the defendant owed a duty of due care to the plaintiffs to refrain from negligent conduct in its operations.
Academic text (1990) -
In each case, the deciding court permitted pure economic loss claims because it found that the defendant had a duty of due care, that the losses were proximately caused by the defendant's actions, and that the injury to the particular plaintiff was foreseeable to the defendant.
Academic text (1990) -
The doctors took due care to ensure the patient's safety during the procedure.
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In legal matters, individuals are expected to demonstrate due care to avoid negligence.
Synonyms
1
3.8
Enough careful attention a sensible person gives in a situation to avoid harm
1
3.8
The level of attention and caution a reasonable person shows in similar situations to avoid harm
Antonyms
How Careful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built: 'due' (in the relevant sense 'appropriate, owed, or required') + 'care' (caution), so its meaning 'appropriate level of caution' can be directly inferred from the constituents. Although 'due' has other senses (e.g. 'expected/scheduled' as given), the adjectival meaning 'required/appropriate' is common and cross-linguistically comparable, making the expression transparent to learners who know both words.
Etymology
The phrase due care may come from the old idea that due means 'required' or 'owed' and care means careful attention. Imagine someone handling a fragile box with the exact attention it 'requires'. That's why due care means the level of attention or caution a reasonable person should give.