Expanding Responsibility: Tort Doctrines

This chapter examines tort doctrines that expand liability for accidental harms beyond those parties that actually caused the harm. One reason for doing this is uncertainty over causation, which can result from existence of a background risk, and/or multiple possible causes. In this setting, liability may be apportioned based on the probability of causation rather than actual causation. Alternatively, liability can be assigned before harm materializes based on risk. Both approaches are capable of achieving optimal deterrence. The chapter concludes by discussing the pros and cons of allowing derivative tort claims, an example of which is reparations for slavery.