This chapter examines the principle of vicarious liability, a form of secondary liability through which employers may, in certain circumstances, be liable for the torts of their employees, even though the employer themselves may be entirely blameless. The imposition of vicarious liability is one of the most important exceptions to the general approach of the common law whereby liability for any wrongdoing is imposed on, and only on, the wrongdoer(s). A defendant will not be vicariously liable unless the following conditions are met: (a) there is an employer–employee relationship (or one akin to this) between the defendant and the person for whose actions they are being held liable; and (b) a close connection between this relationship and the tortious wrongdoing of the employee
Chapter
20. Vicarious liability
Chapter
21. Damages for death and personal injuries
This chapter examines various issues in relation to damages in tort, beginning by looking at the principles that lie behind damages awards. The primary object of the law is to compensate those who have been harmed by another’s wrongdoing by making an award that seeks to put the claimant into the position that they would have been in had the harm not occurred. The chapter discusses the calculation and forms of damage payments, and special and general damages; independent, joint and several concurrent liabilities; time limitations on claims; the problem with damages; and debunking the compensation culture myth.
