Legal Definitions - joint negligence

Joint negligence occurs when two or more parties are each found to have acted negligently, and their combined negligent actions directly cause a single, indivisible injury or damage to another person. In such cases, it can be difficult to determine precisely which party's negligence caused which specific portion of the harm, as their failures to exercise reasonable care worked together to produce the overall negative outcome.

• Example 1: Multi-Vehicle Collision

  Imagine a scenario where Driver A is speeding excessively on a highway, and Driver B, in an adjacent lane, makes an abrupt lane change without signaling or checking their blind spot. The two vehicles collide, causing a chain reaction that results in a third vehicle, driven by Driver C, being severely damaged and Driver C sustaining significant injuries.

  How it illustrates joint negligence: Both Driver A's speeding and Driver B's unsafe lane change are negligent acts. Their individual failures to drive carefully combined to cause the collision and Driver C's injuries and property damage. It would be challenging to separate the harm caused solely by Driver A's speeding from the harm caused solely by Driver B's unsafe maneuver; their negligence acted jointly to create the single, indivisible harm to Driver C.

• Example 2: Construction Site Accident

  Consider a construction project where a general contractor is responsible for overall site safety, including ensuring that heavy equipment is properly maintained. Simultaneously, a subcontractor's crew operating a crane fails to follow established safety protocols for securing a load. Due to both the general contractor's failure to maintain the crane's braking system and the subcontractor's crew's improper loading technique, the crane malfunctions, drops its load, and injures a worker on the ground.

  How it illustrates joint negligence: The general contractor's negligence lies in failing to maintain the equipment, while the subcontractor's crew's negligence is in failing to follow safety procedures for loading. Both of these separate acts of negligence converged to cause the crane to drop its load and injure the worker. The worker's injury is a direct result of the joint failures of both the general contractor and the subcontractor's crew.

• Example 3: Property Management and Maintenance

  A property management company for an apartment complex receives multiple complaints about a dimly lit stairwell and a loose handrail but fails to address these issues. Separately, a maintenance contractor hired by the property management company to perform routine inspections notices the loose handrail during a visit but neglects to report it or make a temporary repair. A tenant then uses the stairwell, trips in the poor lighting, grabs the loose handrail for support, and falls, sustaining injuries.

  How it illustrates joint negligence: The property management company's negligence is its failure to respond to known hazards (poor lighting, loose handrail). The maintenance contractor's negligence is its failure to report or address an obvious safety defect it observed. Both parties' failures to exercise reasonable care contributed to the unsafe condition of the stairwell, and their combined negligence directly led to the tenant's fall and injuries.