Liability means legal responsibility for an injury: the person or company that is liable is the one that has to pay for the harm. In a Florida injury case, one of the first questions is who can be held liable, because the answer decides whose insurance pays and how much coverage is available. Often more than one person or company is involved.
Questions about your case? Call (305) 257-9464 for a free consultation. You pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
This page covers who can be responsible and on what basis. For what has to be proven in a negligence case, see our pages on negligence, breach of duty, causation and the burden of proof.
The Person Who Caused the Harm
Most injury cases are negligence cases: someone failed to use reasonable care, and that failure caused the injury. The careless driver, the business that ignored a hazard and the company that skipped a safety step all fall here. Some cases involve intentional conduct, such as an assault. A claim against the person who committed an assault or battery generally has four years to be filed, longer than the two years for most negligence claims (§ 95.11(3)(n), (5)(a), Fla. Stat.).
Vehicle Owners
Under Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine, the owner of a motor vehicle who voluntarily entrusts it to someone else is vicariously liable when that person’s negligent driving injures another (Rippy v. Shepard, Fla. 2012, quoting Aurbach v. Gallina, Fla. 2000). That can apply when someone borrows a relative’s car or an employee drives a company-owned vehicle with permission. When the owner is an individual who lent the car, Florida limits how much the owner can be made to pay for the driver’s negligence (§ 324.021(9)(b)3.). If the driver was working at the time, we look at who employed the driver and who owned the vehicle, because both can matter.
There is a major exception for rental and leasing companies. Under a federal law known as the Graves Amendment, a company in the business of renting or leasing vehicles is not liable, just because it owns the vehicle, for a crash during the rental or lease, as long as neither the company nor an affiliate was negligent or committed criminal wrongdoing (49 U.S.C. § 30106; Vargas v. Enterprise Leasing Co., Fla. 2011). Our rental car accident page explains what coverage is usually available in those crashes.
Businesses and Property Owners
A business can be held liable when someone slips on a spill or other transitory foreign substance on its premises, but Florida law requires the injured person to prove that the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken action to fix it. Constructive knowledge can be shown with circumstantial evidence that the condition existed long enough that the business should have known about it, or that it happened regularly and was therefore foreseeable (§ 768.0755). That is why video, cleaning logs and witness accounts matter so much in these cases. See our premises liability page for other property-related injuries.
Product Makers
Florida holds a manufacturer strictly liable when a product it puts on the market, knowing it will be used without inspection for defects, proves defective and causes injury (West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., Fla. 1976; Aubin v. Union Carbide Corp., Fla. 2015). The injured person still has to prove the company’s connection to the product, that the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous, and that the defect caused the harm. See our product liability page.
Dog Owners
A dog’s owner is liable when the dog bites someone in a public place, or someone lawfully on private property, including the owner’s own property, regardless of whether the dog had ever been vicious before or whether the owner knew it. The owner’s liability is reduced by the percentage that the bitten person’s own negligence contributed to the bite. If, at the time of the bite, the owner had an easily readable sign including the words “Bad Dog” displayed in a prominent place on the owner’s premises, the owner is not liable under the statute unless the person bitten was under 6 or the owner’s own negligence caused the injury (§ 767.04). See our dog bite page.
Bars, Restaurants and Others Who Serve Alcohol
Florida law generally does not make someone who sells or serves alcohol to a person of legal drinking age liable for injuries caused by that person’s intoxication. There are two exceptions: willfully and unlawfully selling or serving alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age, and knowingly serving a person who is habitually addicted to alcohol (§ 768.125).
The Government
A city, a county or a state agency can be liable for negligence, for example when a government employee causes a crash while on the job, but special rules apply. Written notice of the claim generally must be given within three years (two years for a wrongful death claim), a lawsuit generally cannot be filed until the claim is denied or six months pass (90 days for a death claim), and damages are generally capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, with no punitive damages or interest before judgment (§ 768.28).
When More Than One Party Is at Fault
In a Florida negligence case, each defendant is generally ordered to pay according to its own percentage of fault, not the full amount for everyone (§ 768.81(3)). A defendant can try to put blame on someone who is not in the case, but it has to plead that, identify the person if known, and prove that person’s fault at trial (§ 768.81(3)(a)). That is why identifying everyone who may share responsibility early matters: a share of fault assigned to someone who is not in the case reduces what the defendants have to pay, and you can collect that share only if you have a claim against that person.
Your own share counts too. Florida reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault and, in most negligence cases, bars recovery entirely if you are found more than 50 percent at fault (§ 768.81(2), (6)). If you are being blamed, see how a lawyer can help if you are being blamed for an accident.
How We Identify Who Is Liable
We start with the crash or incident report and the people involved, then look at who owned the vehicle or property, who employed the people involved, who made or sold any product that failed, and what insurance each of them carries. Florida law lets a claimant request, in writing, a sworn statement of a liability insurer’s policy limits, which the insurer must provide within 30 days (§ 627.4137).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can more than one person or company be liable for my injury?
Yes. In a negligence case, each one generally pays according to its own percentage of fault, so it matters to identify everyone who played a part.
The driver who hit me was in a rental car. Is the rental company liable?
Not just because it owns the car. Under the Graves Amendment, a company in the business of renting or leasing vehicles is not liable as the owner for a crash during the rental. It can still be liable for its own negligence or criminal wrongdoing, and the insurance on the rental car may still be available.
The dog had never bitten anyone before. Is the owner still liable?
Generally yes. Florida’s dog bite statute applies regardless of the dog’s history or the owner’s knowledge, subject to the exceptions described above.
What if I was partly at fault?
Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault. If you are found more than 50 percent at fault in most negligence cases, you recover nothing.
What does it cost to talk to you?
The consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Read more about how personal injury lawyers are paid.
Talk to a Lawyer About Who Is Responsible
I have represented injured people in South Florida since 2014. If you were hurt and are not sure who is responsible, call (305) 257-9464 or contact our North Miami Beach office for a free consultation.
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