Legal Definitions - successive tortfeasors

A tortfeasor is an individual or entity who commits a civil wrong (known as a "tort") that causes harm or loss to another person, leading to legal liability.

Successive tortfeasors refers to two or more individuals or entities whose separate, independent wrongful acts occur at different times but contribute to the same overall injury or harm suffered by a victim. Unlike "joint tortfeasors" who act together, successive tortfeasors act independently, but their actions sequentially cause or worsen a single injury or set of damages.

Here are some examples illustrating successive tortfeasors:

• Car Accident and Medical Malpractice: Imagine a scenario where Mr. Henderson negligently runs a red light and collides with Ms. Chen's car, causing her a broken leg. While recovering from surgery for her leg, Ms. Chen develops a severe infection due to the negligence of a hospital nurse, Nurse Rodriguez, who failed to follow proper sterilization protocols. In this case, Mr. Henderson is the first tortfeasor for causing the initial injury, and Nurse Rodriguez is the successive tortfeasor because her independent negligence worsened Ms. Chen's overall suffering and recovery, even though her actions were separate from the car accident.

• Property Damage and Negligent Repair: Consider a situation where a construction company, BuildRight Inc., negligently installs a faulty drainage system in a new commercial building, leading to minor water seepage in the basement. Later, the building owner hires a different plumbing company, PipeFix Solutions, to address the issue. PipeFix Solutions negligently attempts a repair, which instead causes a major pipe burst and extensive flooding, significantly increasing the damage to the basement and its contents. Here, BuildRight Inc. is the initial tortfeasor for the faulty installation and minor seepage, and PipeFix Solutions is the successive tortfeasor, whose independent negligent repair aggravated the existing problem into a much larger, more costly damage event.