Duty of Care

In law, negligence happens when:

• a person or organization owes someone else a duty of care
• they failed to meet the standard of care under that duty by not doing what would have been reasonable in the circumstances, and
• whoever they owed the duty to suffered reasonably foreseeable damages as a result

Anyone in society, regardless of whether they are volunteers, could be liable in negligence. In this way, volunteers are not taking on any more responsibility towards other people. However, one of the best things about volunteering is helping others. This can mean that volunteers work more closely with a larger number of people. In turn, this means that there is more opportunity for negligence to occur.

If a volunteer or an organization is negligent, they could be sued. If the lawsuit is successful, they would have to compensate the person harmed by their negligence. However, the fact that there is a duty of care does not mean that the person is always responsible for someone's injuries.

The duty of care is a duty to avoid conduct that would cause unreasonable risk to others. It only arises where it is clear that it would be dangerous to whoever the duty is owed to if care was not taken. For example, a volunteer pushing someone who is in a wheelchair must be reasonably careful when doing so.

The duty of care can also require a person to take action to prevent harm. For example, in some situations there may be a duty to rescue someone who is under the care of the volunteer or the organization. As in all situations, what that duty involves depends on what is reasonable in the situation. A volunteer, for example, would not be expected to place themselves in serious danger to rescue someone under their charge.

The standard of care looks at whether the person’s action or inaction fulfilled their duty of care. The standard is measured against what a reasonable person would have done in the same situation. Negligence occurs when the action or inaction falls below this standard. Continuing the previous example, if the volunteer did not put the wheelchair break on and left the person on an incline, they may have fallen below the standard of care.

Negligence can only be found when damage was caused by whoever owed the duty of care. This damage must also be reasonably foreseeable. Continuing the previous example, it may be foreseeable that the person would roll down the incline and be injured. However, it may not be foreseeable that the wall would collapse and cause further damage.

If a volunteer is liable for something they did, the organization can also be liable simply because they employed the volunteer. This is called vicarious liability. Whether vicarious liability applies depends on how closely related the improper act of the volunteer is to what they were authorized to do.

Vicarious liability may not apply, for example, if a volunteer simply steals a purse while on the job. However, an organization should be more careful if they put a volunteer in charge of large sums of a client’s money. In this case, if the volunteer steals the funds, vicarious liability may apply. This is because the organization created a greater risk by putting the volunteer in charge of the money.

When caring for children, the standard of care required is not just that of a reasonable person. Instead, it is that of a reasonable parent. This means that the organization and volunteers have to step into the shoes of a parent and act reasonably.

There is a duty to supervise children and take special care around risky situations. This includes when children are playing in water or using things like paints that could be toxic if swallowed. On the organization’s part, this means making sure an adequate number of volunteers are present to supervise the activity taking place.

Volunteers caring for children also have a duty to continue to care for them until they are safely in the care of another person. This may mean that a volunteer needs to stay past the time they were supposed to be looking after the children for.

Volunteers can only use the minimum amount of force required to protect the child’s safety. Force should only be used as a last resort and can never be used as punishment.

Volunteers who are in the business of giving advice must be careful not to give incorrect or misleading information. A volunteer is considered to be in the business of giving advice if that is their primary role in the organization. For example, if they are advocates for people dealing with certain processes or they help people complete things like income tax forms.

If someone takes advice from a volunteer who claims to be skilled or appears to be skilled at giving that advice and they are harmed as a result, they could sue for negligence.

Many outdoor activities can be risky, especially things like rafting or snowboarding. Volunteers or organizations that coordinate higher risk activities have a higher level of responsibility. They must act as a reasonable outdoors person would in similar circumstances. This may require special training for volunteers or the recruiting of volunteers with particular skills.

When volunteers drive people, they must ensure that seatbelts and car seats are used as required and that they obey all other rules of the road. They must look out for the safety of passengers as they enter and exit the car. They must make sure that the car has things liking working windshield wipers, mirrors and tires that are in working order. Organizations must make sure volunteers have valid driver’s’ licenses. They should also make sure that the vehicles used are properly registered and insured.