To a layman, his neighbor is someone who lives close to him, as simple as that. This coincidentally is not just a layman’s definition but also the dictionary definition of the word neighbor, but no, the word neighbor has a whole new meaning in law.
This question, who is my neighbor was first raised by an English jurist; Lord Atkinson in the case Donoghue v. Stevenson UKHL 100, SC (HL) 31, AC 562, All ER Rep 1; in the year 1932, and the answer to this question propagated the as new principle of law known as “the neighborhood principle” and also expanded the principle of duty of care under the law of tort.
A duty of care, therefore, is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others i.e. his neighbors.
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In effect, you owe a duty of care to your neighbors in law and you must apply every caution and exercise every reasonable care to ensure that your neighbor does not get injured from your actions or inactions.
According to Lord Atkinson, our neighbors are persons who are so closely and directly affected by our acts or inactions that we ought reasonably ought to have them in contemplation as being so affected when we are directing our mind to the acts or omissions which are called in question.
By this legal principle of the law of tort, you are under strict liability and the requirement not to carry out any act which can cause harm to others. You are under strict liability to contemplate and avert your mind towards the harm you act or failure to act would reasonably cause another person and you are expected to do everything to avert that harm because you owe that next person a duty of care as your neighbor.
In simpler terms, your neighbor-in-law can be anybody who could suffer an injury from your actions (things you do/ did) or your inactions (things you failed to do).
For you to establish that a person is your neighbor you must first establish that his acts or omission could be reasonably foreseen to cause an injury to you.
The key ingredient in establishing a neighbor in law is that it must be reasonably foreseen that the actions or inactions of that fellow will likely affect you by causing a direct injury to you.
According to this principle of law, manufacturers, producers, and makers of consumable items are your neighbors and they must exercise reasonable care in manufacturing any item that is to be released to the market for consumers to purchase and any injury suffered by any consumer they will be held liable to breach of duty of care.