When more than one person is involved in an accident that causes an injury, there’s a question of who can be liable for damages. If the two defendants acted in concert, each will be liable for injuries directly caused by the other, even if the harms caused by each are divisible (i.e. can split the damages up).
For example, Yoko and Tom just finished watching a racing movie and decide to drag race against each other on a public freeway. Both rev their engines to the maximum possible, and start racing at twice the posted speed limit. Robin and her family are traveling in their minivan towards Yoko and Tom, Yoko, unable to steer her car back into the proper lane, collides with Robin’s minivan while Tom drives by and stares in horror. Believe it or not, but both Yoko and Tom are fully liable for the damage to Robin’s minivan and medical bills since both were engaged in a motor vehicle race on a public freeway making them wrongdoers acting in concert. Because Yoko doesn’t have any money, Robin can sue Tom for all her medical bills and car damage.
How Do You Split Damages Among A Large Group?
While splitting damages is fairly common, sometimes it can be very difficult to do so. Courts have sometimes shifted the burden of proof onto the defendants to demonstrate the reasonable allocation of damages. For example, if 37 residents contend that the defendants (3 corporations who own industrial plants), are polluting the area around the residents’ homes, and file a lawsuit. The 3 corporations will each claim that it is the other industrial plant causing the pollution, since it is very difficult to divide the harm, the burden of proving who is actually polluting the area would be on the corporations. If the corporations can’t prove which one of them is actually responsible, each will be liable for the damages (though you can’t collect your full damages from each defendant).
What do you think? If you can’t tell who caused damage, should everyone have to pay?
To learn more about class action law check out LawInfo. If you think you might have suffered an injury because of a drug or product, you should speak with an attorney today; click here to find
