Susan sustained a serious head injury when her car was struck from behind by two vehicles. One of the vehicles was a company-owned van driven by an employee of Nerds-R-Us, a computer repair firm. The second vehicle was a pickup truck owned by Perfect Plants, a landscaping company. The pickup driver was a Perfect Plants employee.

Susan has sued both Nerds-R-Us and Perfect Plants for bodily injury. Her suit alleges that both the van and pickup drivers were negligent.


Their negligence triggered the accident that caused her injury. As employers Perfect Plants and Nerds-R-Us are vicariously liable for negligent acts committed by their employees. The suit contends that both drivers caused the accident, so Nerds-R-Us and Perfect Plants are jointly and severally liable for Susan's injury.

What is Joint and Several Liability?

Joint and several liability is a combination of two types of liability, joint liability and several liability. Joint liability may apply when two or more people are liable for the same injury. Liability is assigned to the parties as a group. When a plaintiff is awarded damages based on joint liability, the plaintiff may collect all of damages from one of the defendants. Any one of the defendants may be required to pay the entire award, no matter how much (or how little) he or she contributed to the harm.

Several liability is the opposite of joint liability. Under several liability, each party is liable only to the extent of his or her own negligence.

For example, suppose that two contractors are held severally liable for property damage to a building. The building owner may sue each contractor separately. Each contractor is responsible for his or her own negligence. If a contractor is liable for 50% of the property damage, he or she is obligated to pay only 50% of the award. 

How Joint Liability and Several LiabilityApplies

In the auto accident scenario described above suppose that the court awards Susan $50,000 in compensatory damages. If the court holds the employers jointly and severally liable for the damages, Susan may collect all of the damages from one defendant or a portion of the award from each. For example, she may collect $25,000 from each employer or $50,000 from one of them.

Under joint and several liability the defendants are severally liable to each other. That is, if only some defendants have paid damages to the plaintiff but others have not, those that have paid may seek restitution from the others.

For instance, in the auto accident scenario described above suppose that Susan collects all of the $50,000 award from Nerds-Our-Us' commercial auto insurer. The court determines that each of the drivers was 50% responsible for the accident. As employers, Nerds-R-Us and Perfect Plants are each responsible for 50% of the damages. Nerds-R-Us' auto insurer files a subrogation claim against Perfect Plants seeking $25,000.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Joint and several liability benefits injured parties by making restitution more certain. It ensures that an injured plaintiff will be compensated even if one of the parties responsible for the plaintiff's injury is insolvent or otherwise unable to pay.

From the perspective of defendants, joint and several liability has obvious disadvantages. The obligation to pay damages is not based on the fault of individual defendants. Any of the defendants may be stuck paying the entire award, even if his or her contribution to the accident was minimal.

Joint and several liability penalizes wealthier defendants that have the financial wherewithal to pay damages. In cases where joint and several liability applies, plaintiffs may seek out "deep pockets" to sue.

Rules Modified in Many States

Joint and several liability does not apply in all jurisdictions. Many states have enacted laws that restrict its use or eliminate it entirely. Some states have replaced joint and several liability with several liability. Others allow joint and several liability only for certain types of claims, such as those involving wrongful death or intentional torts. Some states permit joint and several liability to be used in determining economic damages but not non-economic damages. To learn whether joint and several liability applies in your state consult your attorney.