Essay on "Vicarious Liability"

Essay 3 pages (1104 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Vicarious Liability: Corporate Criminal Liability and Tort Law

In tort law, vicarious liability refers to the legal doctrine "that imposes responsibility upon one person for the failure of another, with whom the person has a special relationship (such as parent and child, employer and employee, or owner of vehicle and driver), to exercise such care as a reasonably prudent person would use under similar circumstances" (Vicarious liability, 2011, West's Encyclopedia of American Law). In contrast, in criminal law "an employer is legally responsible for the actions of its employees. However, this rule only applies if the employee is acting within the course and scope of employment. In other words, the employer will generally be liable if the employee was doing his or her job, carrying out company business, or otherwise acting on the employer's behalf when the incident took place" (Employer liability, 2011, Nolo). A good example of this is seen in the case of pizza delivery firms that promise an (unrealistically) short delivery time, thus causing drivers to speed. If the driver gets into an accident meeting his or her time goal, the employer will be liable. The obvious incentive of this policy is to encourage employers to act responsibly, and not put profits and an advertising gimmick ahead of the safety of the public.

In tort law, the relationship between the offending partners is not formal and contractual, such as the relationship of a parent and a child. However, it is generally understood that, given the nature of the personal relationship, there is some implied responsibility. For example, if a child violates the law getting drunk on his or her parent's premises, particularl

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y if the parent was present and knew about it, the parent might be vicariously liable for any crimes the child committed. Hosts have been found liable for the crimes committed by intoxicated party-goers, if the guests are allowed to knowingly drive home while intoxicated. A parent may be liable for the actions committed by a child using the family car -- as well as the actions of a vicious family dog, if he or she knowingly did not take proper precautions to secure a dangerous animal.

In criminal law, the relationship is usually contractual between the employer and the employee. However, the doctrine of vicarious liability "only applies if the employee is acting within the course and scope of employment" (Employer liability, 2011, Nolo). While an employer might be responsible for a pizza delivery driver that crashes while racing to fulfill an order, or for a restaurant employee that unknowingly serves tainted food because the employer ignored the 'sell by dates' of the ingredients, the employer is not liable for the actions of the employee while not on the job. In some instances, this can generate a grey area -- for example, what if a delivery driver takes a detour while driving the company car, and gets into an accident in the McDonald's parking lot while eating lunch? In general such actions are not found to be the responsibility of the employer. "Since employers receive benefits of the activities of their employees, they should also be liable for any damage the employee may cause in performing his tasks. If the negligent act was the result of achieving the employers' profit targets, it would be unfair to sue… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Vicarious Liability" Assignment:

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You should have a basic understanding of vicarious liability as it relates to employee negligent conduct, and corporate negligence. There are instances when an organization or corporation engages in conduct deemed illegal (ENRON is an example outside of healthcare). After reviewing the background material, conduct research and respond to the questions using one or two examples.

Assignment expectations:

Distinguish between corporate criminal liability and tort law-- vicarious liability resulting from negligence of a health care organization*****'s employee. In other words what are the legal elements of criminal versus negligent liability for the organization resulting from employee conduct? There are large differences between negligence (and accident) and a crime*****a purposeful act.

Define and discuss apparent agency and the impact the status of the agent/employee versus independent contractor have on the analysis of liability.

Be sure to apply critical thinking skills from your analysis of the current literaure on each component of this assignment- especially with regard to #2 above.

Please use at least 3-5 scholarly sources and cite them both within your paper (at the end of paraphrased information) and listed at the end.

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