Understanding the legal duty of care in the course of negligence.

The first article in this series gave an introduction to clinical negligence (Vol 11(15): 1033-1035). This article begins with a discussion of the law of negligence within the context of the law generally. What must be established in order to bring a legal claim for compensation in negligence is also discussed along with the important concept of owing a legal duty of care. The duty of care concept is illustrated through two cases.