In some situations, a person may be held liable for the actions of another that is in their employ or following their directions˳ Vicarious liability is the legal concept which allows for one party to be held liable for injuries or damages sustained by another party, despite having had no active involvement in the incident˳ People or legal entities that are typically charged with vicarious liability include individuals in supervisory positions or companies˳ This is because these two groups bear the responsibility for the actions of their employees˳
Like any legal concept, there are a variety of situations where vicarious liability can apply˳ One of these instances is in the event that a contractor’s subcontractor fails to complete a job, performs a job inadequately, or is found guilty of some other contract violation˳ The contractor, since he or she hired the subcontractor, is held liable for the subcontractor’s actions because the contractor was employing the subcontractor˳
If a child or minor harms another person or damages a piece of someone else’s property, the parents may be held vicariously liable˳ The theory is that parents are in a position to exercise some form of control over their children and are responsible for controlling their offspring˳ Therefore, when the child or minor messes up, the parents are liable˳
Employers are the group most commonly held vicariously liable˳ They have been charged when an employee is charged with sexual harassment, discriminatory behavior towards potential employees or customers, and any other situation where an employee somehow causes harm to another˳ An employer can be roped into a legal situation regardless of whether the employee is acting against policies set by the employer or following the rules to the letter˳
The idea behind vicarious liability is to hold the truly responsible party accountable when harm is committed˳ If an employee is following company standards when a harm is committed, it makes sense to hold the employer liable˳ This makes sense because the employer created the policies that the employee was following when damage was done˳ The same is true for parents˳ Parents have a responsibility to ensure that their offspring stay within society’s standards˳ When the children don’t, it is frequently because their parents were absent or somehow allowed them to do something that was wrong˳
For more information on vicarious liability as well as the many other forms of liability in the area of civil law, please visit http://www˳attorneyillinois˳net˳
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