What does the rule of joint and several liability state?

The rule of joint and several liability establishes that when multiple parties (defendants) are found to be liable for a single, indivisible injury, each defendant can be held responsible for the full amount of the damages awarded to the plaintiff. This means that if one of the defendants is unable to pay or is not financially solvent, the plaintiff can seek the entire amount from any one of the other defendants. The rationale behind this rule is to ensure that the injured party has a better chance of recovering damages fully, regardless of the financial situations of individual defendants involved in the tortious act.

In this context, the concept of "indivisible injury" is crucial because it refers to situations where the harm caused cannot be separated among different defendants—such as in cases of a car accident involving multiple vehicles or a multi-defendant product liability case. This principle provides protection to the plaintiff, ensuring that they have avenues to recover compensation even if some defendants may be unable to contribute to the payment of damages.