In some situations, one person may be held liable for the actions of another who is at their service or who follows their instructions. Indirect liability is the legal concept that allows one of the parties to be held responsible for the injuries or damages suffered by another, despite not having had an active participation in the incident. Individuals or legal entities that are typically in charge of vicarious liability include individuals in supervisory positions or companies. This is because these two groups have responsibility for the actions of their employees.

Like any legal concept, there are a variety of situations in which vicarious liability can be applied. One such case is in the event that a contractor’s subcontractor fails to complete a job, performs a job improperly, or is found guilty of some other violation of the contract. The contractor, since hiring the subcontractor, is responsible for the subcontractor’s actions because the contractor was employing the subcontractor.

If a child or minor harms another person or damages someone else’s property, the parents can be held indirectly responsible. The theory is that parents are in a position to exercise some form of control over their children and are responsible for controlling their offspring. Therefore, when the child or minor agglomerates, the parents are responsible.

Employers are the group most commonly held indirectly liable. They have been charged when an employee is accused of sexual harassment, discriminatory behavior towards potential employees or clients, and any other situation where one employee in some way causes harm to another. An employer can be involved in a legal situation regardless of whether the employee is acting against the policies set by the employer or following the rules to the letter.

The idea behind vicarious liability is to hold the truly responsible party accountable when harm is done. If an employee follows company rules when harm is done, it makes sense to hold the employer accountable. This makes sense because the employer created the policies that the employee followed when the damage occurred. The same goes for parents. Parents have a responsibility to ensure that their children stay within the standards of society. When children don’t, it is often because their parents were absent or in some way allowed them to do something that was wrong.

For more information on vicarious liability, as well as the many other forms of liability in the area of ​​civil law, visit http://www.attorneyillinois.net.