Is There A Duty To Warn Of Obvious Dangers?

There are dangers in everyday life, but people do not need to be warned of all dangers.  For instance, people do not need to be warned that jaywalking in rush hour traffic is dangerous.

In occupiers' liability claims, defendants should consider whether an alleged danger is an obvious one, in which case it should be argued that no warning about the danger was required.

To determine what qualifies as an obvious danger, a common theme is the use of a common sense approach. For example, what would be the purpose of a warning sign or instruction that would only tell an individual what they already knew from their own observations?

In this article, cases are outlined which address whether there was a duty to warn of dangers in four particular settings: a grocery store, a fitness centre, a park, and a recreational trail.