[Legal Dictionary] Public Duty Doctrine

Public duty doctrine is a doctrine in tort law that says an injured person can’t hold a government entity liable for injuries that resulted from a public officer or employee’s breach of duty to the public (not to the individual).

The rationale behind public duty doctrine is that the government owes duties to the entire public rather than individuals. This doctrine does not apply when a public officer or employee would owe a specific person (in this case, the person who was injured) a certain duty.

Public duty doctrine has nothing to do with a government agency’s duties to, for example, provide a safe roadway. Instead, it refers to incidents of “failure to act” in some circumstances, such as when a police dispatcher fails to send first responders to the scene of a crime.