4: Scope Of Liability

Question 1

Who are possible defendants?- Scope of liability

Answer 1

Before initiating a claim, a plaintiff needs to determine:
-Who are the possible defendants
-To what extent the defendant may be liable
Usually the defendant if the person who is alleged to have infringed the plaintiffs rights or who has caused harm to the plaintiff.

Question 2

When is it that someone other than the person who directly infringed the plaintiffs rights, is liable?

Answer 2

Sometimes someone other than the person who directly infringed upon the plaintiffs rights can be sued. This can be the:

• Employer
• insurer
• others involved in wrong doing (accessories liability)

Question 3

What is vicarious liability?-scope of liability

Answer 3

This is where an employer is liable for the actions of their employees. For an employer to be liable, the plaintiff needs to establish that the defendant is:

1: An employee
2: That he or she was acting in the course of employment when the events leading to the claim occurred (if the employee was acting in an unauthorised way, the employer is not liable.)

Question 4

How can insurers and others be liable?-scope of liability

Answer 4

Insurer: If the defendant is insured, the plaintiff cannot make a direct claim against the insurance if they win. The defendants insurance covers the cost of the claim.
Others involved: Those who aided, encouraged, planned or were indirectly involved in the wrong doing can also be sued by the plaintiff.

Question 5

What is the extent of the defendants liability?-scope of liability

Answer 5

A defendant might argue that while they are liable for part of the plaintiffs loss, they are not liable for the full extent of the loss. This is common in negligence claims, where the defendant argues contributory negligence; that the plaintiff partly contributed towards their own loss.
If successful, the judge or magistrates will allocate blame amongst the parties in terms of percentage.