What is a joint tortfeasor?
Asked by: Jordan Predovic MD | Last update: November 24, 2025Score: 4.3/5 (52 votes)
joint tortfeasors. n. two or more persons whose negligence in a single accident or event causes damages to another person.
What is an example of joint tortfeasors?
Here is one example: two employees from Hospital A commit medical malpractice while one employee from Hospital B acted negligently in their care of a patient. That means it would seem that three individuals could be held liable for damages. However, each individual hospital is one joint tortfeasor.
What are the principles of joint tortfeasors?
The principles
Two or more persons can become jointly liable for the commission of a tort in a variety of ways. They may act together, or one defendant may incur joint liability by inducing, inciting or persuading another to commit a tort.
What is a tortfeasor simple definition?
noun. tort·fea·sor. ˈtȯrt-ˌfē-zər. : a person who commits a tort, delict, or quasi-offense.
What is the difference between a joint tortfeasor and a concurrent tortfeasor?
For example, if two men searching for a gas leak both applied a naked light to a gas pipe and caused an explosion, they are joint tortfeasors. But if a single injury is caused by several people acting without a common design they are not joint, but concurrent tortfeasors.
Joint Tortfeasor - Law of Tort
How may damages be assigned between joint tortfeasors?
Joint and several liability. When two tortfeasors jointly contribute to harm to a plaintiff, both are potentially liable to the injured party for the entire harm.
What is the difference between jointly and severally and jointly and solidarily?
The term "jointly and severally" no longer exists in civil law in English and has been replaced with the term "solidarily". In the English version, the term "solidarily" is added to the term "jointly and severally", which is maintained for common law purposes.
Who suffers a tort is called a tortfeasor?
A tortfeasor is a person or company that does something wrong, inflicting a loss on a third party. If judged legally liable, a tortfeasor (or defendant) must reimburse the wronged person (plaintiff) for any damages.
What are 3 types of torts?
- Intentional torts (e.g., intentionally hitting a person);
- Negligent torts (e.g., causing an accident by failing to obey traffic rules); and.
- Strict liability torts (e.g., liability for making and selling defective products - see Products Liability).
What is an element that must be present for a tort of assault to exist?
Certain elements must be present to prove an assault occurred: The plaintiff perceived immediate physical contact with the defendant. Plaintiff had suspicion that he was in imminent danger. The actions of the defendant, or tortfeasor, were intentional, not accidental.
What is the release of joint tortfeasors?
8 The rationale for the rule releasing one joint tortfeasor upon the release of the others is said to be that a person is entitled to only one compensation for his injury and that the rule is intended to prevent a double recovery by the injured party.
Why is defamation a tort?
Defamation is a statement that injures a third party's reputation. The tort of defamation includes both libel (written statements) and slander (spoken statements). State common law and statutory law governs defamation actions, and each state varies in their standards for defamation and potential damages .
What is nervous shock in tort?
What does Nervous shock mean? Psychiatric damage inflicted by the intentional or negligent acts or omissions of another. Such damage is compensatable if the victim was physically injured or forseeably could have been.
What is the difference between a tortfeasor and a defendant?
The Difference Between a Tortfeasor and Defendant
“Defendant” is a catch-all term for any perpetrator of an illegal act being held accountable in a court of law. “Tortfeasor” refers specifically to perpetrators of a tort, or civil law offense.
What is the difference between jointly and severally?
In severally liability, each partner is responsible for their own obligations rather than equally being held responsible (jointly). If one partner is unable to remedy their obligations, it does not fall on the other partners to do so.
What is an example of a joint obligation in law?
For example, if two people take out a loan together, they have a joint obligation to repay the loan to the lender. Another example of joint obligation is when multiple people are named as defendants in a lawsuit and are jointly responsible for paying any damages awarded to the plaintiff.
What are the 4 most common torts?
Four of them are personal: assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment. The other three are trespass to chattels, trespass to property, and conversion.
Can a judge create a new tort law?
In addition, some judges have, on a retroactive basis, created brand new tort claims that have no basis in precedent or state public policy. The courts have, in some instances, acted as legislators.
How to win a tort case?
To win an intentional tort case, you must prove that the defendant intended to cause harm, and that harm resulted from their actions. This often involves establishing the intent or motive behind the actions, and proving that the harm caused was a direct result of those actions.
Who is a tortfeasor liable to?
A tortfeasor is a person or entity that commits a wrongful act that causes another individual or business to suffer a personal or financial loss. When a tortfeasor is held legally liable, they'll need to reimburse the impacted party for any damages.
Is tort a civil or criminal law?
In some cases, an individual may choose to sue another for injuries or damages. This is called tort law, and it falls under the umbrella of civil law.
Who sues for a tort?
A plaintiff injured by a defendant's wrongful act may file a tort lawsuit to recover money from that defendant. To name a particularly familiar example of a tort, a person who negligently causes a vehicular collision may be liable to the victim of that crash.
What does subsidiarily liable mean?
Subsidiary. liability. refers to the obligations that a party has with respect to the default of a third party, usually a financial debtor, employee or public official. In these cases, and even if it has not committed the fault, the commercial company or the State becomes liable for the damage that has been caused.
What does severally mean in a will?
When doing so, these attorneys can act: Jointly and severally: the attorneys can make decisions together or separately; severally: they can make decisions independently of the other attorneys; jointly: the attorneys must agree on all decisions.
What is solidarily liable?
Solidary liability means that each responsible party is independently liable for the entire obligation, responsibility, or debt to the party who is owed the obligation, responsibility, or debt.