Vicarious Liability in a Slip and Fall Lawsuit

Who is liable in a slip and fall lawsuit? Most obviously, the property owner potentially faces liability for accidents on his, her, or its (in the case of a business) property.

Also, a person who him- or herself was negligent could be liable. For example, if John Doe spilled oil on a sidewalk and did not take reasonable steps (cleaning it up; putting up signs or sawhorses to divert pedestrian traffic), he could be liable for carelessness.

In addition, it's possible that someone who does not own the property or is not directly responsible for the negligent action could be vicariously liable.

Vicarious Liability

Vicarious liability is "secondary" liability; it's when person A becomes liable, or legally responsible, for person B's actions. The most common kind of vicarious liability, and one that most people are intuitively familiar with (even if they don't know the terminology) is an employer's liability for the actions of his employees. This is often called "master-servant liability," and while there are some limitations on it, such as the employer is generally only responsible for actions taken in the course of his worker's employment, it's one of the main bases by which businesses are sued when their employees injure someone or cause property damage.

Another common kind of vicarious liability is a parent's liability for his or her minor child's acts. This is how a parent might be sued over a car accident her son was in.

Also, sometimes a contractor might be vicariously liable for the actions of his subcontractors, if the contractor exercised sufficient control over the subcontractor's actions.

How Vicarious Liability Can Help You

If you've been injured by someone else's negligence, you want to be able to recover compensation for it. The more people who may be legally liable or responsible, the greater the chance of actually collecting, since it gives you more people who may have assets and who may have insurance as well. Therefore, whenever injured, including in a slip and fall case, due to someone else's carelessness, try to identify every party who may be responsible--including vicariously.

How an Attorney Can Help

An attorney will understand the law governing negligence, liability, and vicarious liability, and can help you identify all the potentially responsible parties.

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