culpable
adj.describing someone who is responsible for a crime or a bad situation. You use this when you want to say that a person's actions caused a problem.
adj.deserving blame or punishment for a crime or fault. Often used in legal or formal contexts to describe the degree of responsibility for an offence.
“The driver was found culpable for the accident.”
“The investigation concluded that the manager was culpable for the safety violations that led to the factory fire.”
“While the primary cause of the financial collapse was systemic, the board was found culpable for failing to monitor the risk levels of the high-stakes investments.”
“Fearing that the driver was not being held culpable, the victim's family appealed for help.”
“She was convicted of the culpable homicide of her daughter following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen in July.”
From Middle English culpable, from Old French culpable, from Latin culpābilis (“blameworthy”), from culpō (“to blame, condemn”), from culpa (“a fault, crime, mistake”). Compare also culprit.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.