Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Successive tortfeasors: This term refers to individuals or parties who commit a wrongful act or negligence that results in harm or injury to another person, after a previous tortfeasor has already caused harm. In simpler terms, it means someone who causes harm to someone else after someone else has already caused harm.
Successive tortfeasors are individuals or entities who commit a tort in a series of events that lead to harm or injury to another person or entity. A tortfeasor is a person who commits a tort, which is a civil wrong that causes harm or injury to another person or entity.
For example, if a person is injured in a car accident caused by a driver who was texting while driving, the driver is the initial tortfeasor. However, if the injured person is also harmed by the negligence of the emergency medical technicians who respond to the accident, the emergency medical technicians become successive tortfeasors.
Another example is if a person slips and falls on a wet floor in a grocery store due to the store's negligence in not putting up a warning sign. If the injured person is then further injured by the negligence of the ambulance driver who transports them to the hospital, the ambulance driver becomes a successive tortfeasor.
These examples illustrate how successive tortfeasors can contribute to the harm or injury of another person or entity, even if they were not the initial cause of the harm or injury.