A legal obligation to act with reasonable care and avoid harming others.

"Legal obligation" means the law expects a person or business to behave in a way that fits the situation. Drivers must watch the road, control speed, and adjust for weather or traffic. Property owners must fix or warn about hazards they know about or should know about. Trucking companies, employers, doctors, and manufacturers may also owe duties based on what they do and who could be hurt if they are careless.

"Reasonable care" does not mean perfect care. It means the level of caution an ordinary prudent person would use under similar circumstances. On a quiet street, that may be simple attention. On a narrow highway, in heavy rain, around a work zone, or while hauling a heavy load, the amount of care expected goes up because the risk goes up.

"Avoid harming others" is where a negligence claim usually starts. If someone owed a duty of care, breached it, and that breach caused an injury, they may be legally responsible for damages.

In Arkansas, duty of care matters because fault affects whether an injured person can recover at all. Under Arkansas's modified comparative fault rule, Ark. Code § 16-64-122, a person who is 50% or more at fault cannot recover damages. So proving the other side owed a duty and failed to meet it can directly shape liability, settlement value, and whether a claim survives.