Mass Torts

Mass Torts in United States

Mass torts 

A mass tort is a collective tort, that is an injury to a group of persons. Factually speaking there appear to be two instances of mass torts: one source of injury at one point in time, such as an airline accident, or several victims with several tort-feasors but one common instrumentality such as a defective medicine.

Master and servant | Arbeitgeber und Arbeitnehmer

The relation of employment wherein one person, the master, bids and controls the other, the servant, to do their will in exchange for remuneration. Master’s will ordinarily be liable for the torts of their employees committed in the scope of their employ.

An employer can be liable for the torts of their employee committed in the scope of their employment under a theory of vicarious liability (see: respondeat superior).

Whether an employer will be liable for the tort committed against their employee will depend partly on the circumstances. At common law the fellow servant rule (q.v.) denied such liability where the tort was committed by a co-worker. The fellow servant rule has been abrogated in most if not all jurisdictions.

See also: Employee vs. Independent Contractor, Fellow servant rule, respondeat superior, vicarious liability.

Brenner v. Socony Vacuum Oil Co., 236 Mo.App. 524, 158 S.W.2d 171, 174. I75; Relling v. Missouri Ins. Co., 153 S.W.2d 79;
Pantell v. Shriver Allison Co., 61 Ohio App. 115, 22 N.E.2d 497, 499.

See: Agency

Mass Torts

Leading Case Law

Among the main judicial decisions on this topic:

In re School Asbestos Litigation, School Dist. of Lancaster v. Lake Asbestos of Quebec, Ltd.

Information about this important court opinion is available in this American legal Encyclopedia.

References

See Also

  • Tort
  • Product Liability

Posted

in

, ,

by

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *