Which legal principle holds a defendant liable for the impact of their actions on another person's property?

Vicarious liability is the legal principle that establishes that an employer or principal can be held liable for the negligent actions of an employee or agent, when those actions occur within the scope of employment or authority. This principle recognizes that the relationship between the two parties—employer and employee, or principal and agent—can create liability for the employer or principal if their subordinate's actions lead to damage of another person's property or cause injury.

For instance, if a delivery driver, while fulfilling work responsibilities, accidentally damages a customer’s property, the employer could be held responsible under vicarious liability. This concept is grounded in the idea that employers have a duty to supervise and control their employees and therefore bear responsibility for their actions while they are performing their job duties.

While the other options relate to various legal concepts, they do not pertain specifically to the liability arising from one person's impact on another's property in the way that vicarious liability does. Comparative negligence deals with the allocation of fault among parties in a lawsuit; intervening cause refers to an event that occurs after a defendant's action and interrupts the chain of causation; compensatory damages are the monetary awards given to compensate for losses or injuries but do not define liability itself.