Defined Terms  YELP Holistic First Business Plan    SWOT Analysis   Executive Summary   Deliverables And Costs   Snapshot Page To Benchmark Techniques

Duty Of Care means for the Civil Liability Acts 2002 -

(1)        An Inviter is not negligent in failing to take precautions against a Risk Of Harm to an Invitee(s) unless:

             (a)       the risk was a Foreseeable, Non-Obvious, Explicit Risk which the Inviter knew or ought to have known;

             (b)       the risk was not insignificant; and

             (c)       in the circumstances, an Inviter, being a reasonable person in the Inviter's position, would have taken those precautions.

(2)        In determining whether a Inviter should have taken precautions against a Risk Of Harm, the court should consider, amongst other relevant things:

             (a)        probability that the Harm Suffered would occur if care were not taken,

             (b)        likely seriousness of the Harm Suffered,

             (c)        burden of taking precautions to avoid the Risk Of Harm, and

             (d)        social utility (benefit to the community) of the activity that creates the Risk Of Harm.

An Inviter needs to be aware of all Foreseeable, Non-Obvious, Explicit Risks in order to include them in his/her Risk Warning.  Organisers/Inviters of bicycle rides over several days take on a Duty Of Care to perform due diligence of the entire ride route in order to avoid Negligence by identifying all Foreseeable, Non-Obvious, Explicit Risks which notably include timber bridges with gaps between planks, storm water drainage grides, potholes, railway level crossings.  Upon identifying such Foreseeable, Non-Obvious, Explicit Risks, organisers/Inviters then need to include these in their Risk Warning. 

Organisers/Inviters need also to -

(a)        identify dangerous road sections, for example busy one lane roads, without a dedicated shoulder, that attract large trucks; and

(b)        seek to avoid such roads by identifying safer alternative routes. 

One ponders whether Australian Rotary Health, the organisers of Australian Bike Ride which cycled in late 2010 the perimeter of Australia - well over 12,000km, were aware of their Duty Of Care to their Invitees.  A "disclaimer" or "liability denial" does not remove organisers/Inviters of their Duty Of Care to the persons they invite to their Recreational Activity.  Any such "disclaimer" or "liability denial" will merely represent a "piece of evidence" which the defendant may present.  However, it would likely carry minor weight because the Civil Liability (Personal Responsibility) Acts requires Inviter persons to warn of Three Types Of Risks, and Inviter persons cannot do that if they do not, beforehand, identify Foreseeable, Non-Obvious, Explicit Risks.

See Section 23 and definitions of Provide A Risk Warning, Dangerous Recreational Activity, Recreational Activity and Regulate Existing Sporting Activity Providers.