Liability

Being 'liable' means being legally responsible. In an injury case, liability usually refers to whether the defendant is responsible for causing the injury. If liability is established, the defendant (or, more commonly, their insurer) has to pay damages.

Liability is typically established by proving negligence or, in some cases, strict liability. Negligence requires proof of duty, breach, causation, and damages. Strict liability applies in specific contexts — product defect cases, certain animal attacks, some ultra-hazardous activities — where fault doesn't need to be shown.

When more than one party caused the injury, states handle it differently. In joint-and-several liability states, each defendant can be held responsible for the full amount, and the defendants sort out contributions among themselves. In several-only states, each defendant pays only their proportional share. This significantly affects what a plaintiff can collect when one defendant is uninsured.

Insurers often 'accept liability' without admitting it publicly — meaning they agree internally that their insured is at fault and that they'll pay, but avoid a formal admission. This affects negotiation tone but not usually the final outcome.