Sometimes when a person is injured by another person’s negligent actions, someone other than the individual that caused the injuries is liable for the injury. When this situation occurs, the person that is liable is said to be vicariously liable for the actions of the other, or the person that caused the injury.
Vicarious liability is a form of liability in torts that makes an individual that is in charge of or employs another liable for the actions of that charge or employee. The situation is most common in instances where a person is hurt by an employee and then his or her employer is found liable.
In order for a person to be liable for the actions of another, the action that was the cause of the injury must have been part of the person’s job or been a direct order of some sort. For instance, if a person is hit by a UPS truck that is speeding, UPS may be liable if the person was driving the truck for UPS at the time of the accident. An instance where UPS would not be liable exists if an off-duty driver, driving their own car, hit someone while going to or from work.
Parents can also be held vicariously liable for the actions of their children. There is a certain degree of control that one expects a parent to have over their children and so when the child does something to injure another person, the parents could be found liable. This frequently depends on the age of the child that hurt another.
Contact a Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer
If you have been injured by an individual’s negligent actions and would like to discuss your legal options, please contact the Minneapolis personal injury lawyers of Terry, Slane & Ruohonen at 612-362-0000. Our partners are skilled, ethical litigators with years of experience in cases stemming from car crashes, truck crashes, motorcycle crashes, and pedestrian accidents.
