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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Vicarious Liability
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A quick definition of Vicarious Liability:
Term: Vicarious Liability
Definition: When someone is responsible for the actions of another person because of their relationship. For example, if a boss is responsible for something bad that their employee did, even if the boss didn't do it themselves. This is also true for people who work together to do something wrong, where everyone can be held responsible for what the others did if they knew about it and wanted it to happen.
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: Vicarious liability is when a person or organization is held responsible for the actions of another person or organization because of their relationship. For example, an employer can be held responsible for the actions of their employees.
Under common law, a member of a conspiracy can also be held vicariously liable for the crimes of their co-conspirators if the crimes were foreseeable and committed with the intent of furthering the objective of the conspiracy.
Example: If an employee of a company causes an accident while driving a company vehicle, the company can be held responsible for any damages or injuries caused by the accident. This is because the employee was acting within the scope of their employment and the company has a responsibility to ensure their employees are properly trained and supervised.
Example: In a conspiracy case, if one member of the conspiracy commits a crime that was planned by the group, all members of the conspiracy can be held responsible for the crime. For example, if a group of people plan to rob a bank and one member of the group shoots someone during the robbery, all members of the group can be held responsible for the shooting.