Meaning & use
legal responsibility
Last updated
Meanings
phrasecountable or uncountableformallegallaw
a duty that the law says a person or organization must carry out or answer for
Grammar: Use 'a legal responsibility' for one specific duty, or no article for the general idea: accept legal responsibility.
Patterns
- a legal responsibility to do something
- have legal responsibility for someone/something
- take legal responsibility for something
Parents have a legal responsibility to make sure their children go to school.
The company accepted legal responsibility for the pollution and paid a fine.
Drivers have a legal responsibility to stop after an accident.
phraseuncountableformallegallaw
the state of being answerable under the law for something that has happened
Grammar: No plural and no article; often used after verbs like 'accept', 'deny' or 'admit'.
Patterns
- accept legal responsibility for something
- deny legal responsibility
- admit legal responsibility
The hospital denied legal responsibility for the error.
After the fire, the landlord admitted legal responsibility and paid for repairs.
The report asks who should bear legal responsibility when a machine causes harm.
Common combinations
- accept legal responsibility
- The builder accepted legal responsibility for the cracked wall.
- have legal responsibility for
- Teachers have legal responsibility for students during school hours.
- deny legal responsibility
- The airline denied legal responsibility for the lost luggage.
- take on legal responsibility
- When you sign the contract, you take on legal responsibility for the loan.
- a legal responsibility to report
- Doctors have a legal responsibility to report certain diseases.
Synonyms and how they differ
- liability
- Liability is more technical and often refers to the money you may have to pay; legal responsibility is wider and can mean any legal duty.
- duty
- Duty can be moral or official, not only legal; legal responsibility always involves the law.
- obligation
- Obligation is formal and can come from a promise or contract; legal responsibility comes specifically from the law.
Word family
- legally responsible phrase
- adjective phrase meaning answerable under the law
- responsibility noun
- a duty or the state of being in charge
- responsible adjective
- having a duty to deal with something
Commonly confused: legal responsibility or moral responsibility?
legal responsibility vs moral responsibility
Moral responsibility is about right and wrong, not the law. A person can have moral responsibility without any legal duty.
Practice
The factory ______ legal responsibility for the chemical leak and paid for the cleanup.
Choose one answer.
'Accepted legal responsibility' means the factory admitted its legal duty and acted on it, which fits paying for the cleanup. 'Denied' and 'refused' would mean it did not take responsibility, so paying for the cleanup would not follow.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “legal responsibility”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.