4.3 Special Relationships and Duties

Special relationships create unique duties of care in tort law. These relationships, like those between businesses and customers or landlords and tenants, impose higher standards of responsibility. Understanding these duties is crucial for grasping how the law allocates risk and liability.

Professional relationships also carry specific obligations. Doctors, lawyers, and other experts must meet industry standards and protect client interests. Property owners have varying duties to visitors, while some relationships require controlling third-party actions. These concepts shape how courts determine fault in negligence cases.

Special Relationships and Duties

Special relationships for duty of care

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• Common carriers and passengers
  • Includes airlines (Delta), buses (Greyhound), trains (Amtrak), and other public transportation providers
  • Obligated to ensure the safety of passengers during transportation
• Innkeepers and guests
  • Encompasses hotels (Hilton), motels (Motel 6), and other lodging establishments
  • Responsible for providing a safe environment and protecting guests from foreseeable harm
• Landlords and tenants
  • Must maintain safe conditions on the rental property (fixing broken stairs)
  • Required to disclose known hazards or defects (informing tenants about lead paint)
• Employers and employees
  • Obligated to provide a safe work environment (proper safety equipment)
  • Responsible for training and supervising employees adequately (safety protocols)
• Schools and students
  • Must provide a safe learning environment (secure campus)
  • Responsible for supervising students and protecting them from foreseeable harm (preventing bullying)

Professional duties to clients

• Doctors and healthcare professionals
  • Obligated to provide medical care that meets the standard of care in their field (following accepted treatment guidelines)
  • Must obtain informed consent before treatment (explaining risks and benefits)
  • Required to maintain patient confidentiality (HIPAA regulations)
• Lawyers and legal professionals
  • Must provide competent legal representation (thorough research and preparation)
  • Obligated to act in the client's best interests (avoiding conflicts of interest)
  • Required to maintain client confidentiality (attorney-client privilege)
  • Must avoid conflicts of interest (representing opposing parties)
• Other professionals
  • Accountants (CPA), engineers (PE)
  • Obligated to provide services that meet the standard of care in their field (following industry standards)
  • Must act in the client's best interests (providing accurate financial statements)
  • Required to maintain client confidentiality (protecting sensitive information)

Property owner duties to visitors

• Invitees
  • Individuals who enter the property for the owner's business or commercial purposes (customers in a store)
  • Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees
  • Must inspect the property, repair known hazards (fixing broken handrails), and warn of hidden dangers (wet floor signs)
• Licensees
  • Individuals who enter the property with the owner's permission for their own purposes (social guests)
  • Property owners owe an intermediate duty of care to licensees
  • Must warn of known hazards (informing about a loose step) and refrain from creating new dangers (not leaving tools out)
• Trespassers
  • Individuals who enter the property without the owner's permission (intruders)
  • Property owners generally owe the lowest duty of care to trespassers
  • Typically no duty to ensure the safety of trespassers, with some exceptions:
    • Attractive nuisance doctrine for child trespassers (swimming pools)
    • Must refrain from willful or wanton conduct that may cause injury (setting traps)

Duty to control third parties

• Duty to control the conduct of employees
  • Employers may be liable for the negligent or intentional acts of their employees within the scope of employment (delivery driver causing an accident)
  • Vicarious liability through the doctrine of respondeat superior (employer responsible for employee's actions)
• Duty to control the conduct of individuals with special relationships
  • Parents may be liable for the actions of their minor children in some circumstances (vandalism)
  • Mental health professionals may have a duty to warn or protect potential victims from the actions of their patients (Tarasoff duty)
• Duty to control the conduct of third parties on one's property
  • Property owners may be liable for failing to provide adequate security (insufficient lighting) or prevent foreseeable criminal acts by third parties on their premises (assaults in a parking lot)