Liability means responsibility under the law.
If a person or company is responsible, or partially responsible, for someone else's injury, they can be held liable by a court of law. Under the American civil court system, people have the right to pursue litigation, and to be compensated for negligence, wrongdoing or bad faith. People also have the responsibility to pursue litigation when it can bring about changes that will benefit society. Even if you are told that the victim is at fault, other parties may be partly or totally responsible under the law. Another parties conduct could have contributed to a diving, drowning or near-drowning accident, even if you or others think that you were responsible.