Liability Legal Terms
Liability and fault legal concepts including comparative negligence, strict liability, joint liability, and causation in personal injury cases.
10 terms in this category
Assumption of Risk
A legal defense asserting that the plaintiff knowingly and voluntarily accepted the risks associated with a particular activity and therefore cannot recover damages for resulting injuries.
Breach of Duty
A failure to meet the applicable standard of care or to fulfill a legal obligation to act reasonably, which is a required element of a negligence claim.
Contributory Negligence
A legal doctrine in which a plaintiff who is found to be even slightly at fault for their own injuries is completely barred from recovering any compensation from the defendant.
Duty of Care
A legal obligation requiring a person or entity to exercise a reasonable level of caution and prudence to avoid causing foreseeable harm to others.
Last Clear Chance
A legal doctrine that allows a negligent plaintiff to recover damages if the defendant had the last clear opportunity to avoid the accident but failed to do so.
Negligence Per Se
A legal doctrine in which negligence is automatically established when the defendant violated a safety statute or regulation designed to protect the class of persons to which the plaintiff belongs.
Proximate Cause
The primary or legal cause of an injury that is sufficiently related to the harm to justify holding the defendant responsible, even if other factors also contributed.
Res Ipsa Loquitur
A Latin legal doctrine meaning "the thing speaks for itself," which allows a jury to infer negligence from the very nature of an accident when it would not normally occur without someone's negligence.
Respondeat Superior
A legal doctrine that holds an employer vicariously liable for the negligent actions of an employee when those actions occur within the scope of employment.
Superseding Cause
An unforeseeable intervening event that breaks the chain of causation between the defendant's negligence and the plaintiff's injury, relieving the defendant of liability.
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