Can employers be held for a drunk driving accident caused by an on duty employee?

Drunk driving victims often find that they are unable to receive the compensation they deserve simply because the drunk driver just does not have enough money in the bank or anywhere else and is also uninsured. They choose to get drunk and buy alcohol but not take care of their civic and legal responsibility when it comes to purchasing car insurance. Not the best citizens around!

Baltimore, MD drunk driving accident lawyers such as those from the awesome Injury Law Center (http://www.injlawcenter.com/) stress the fact that this is why it is important for plaintiffs and their lawyers to identify every party that can be held responsible in the case and list them as defendants while filing a property damage or wrongful death lawsuit seeking economic compensation.

As you may already know, in certain states, under specific circumstances, the bar that served alcohol to a person that then caused a drunk driving accident can be held liable for the consequent damages. These are called Dram Shop laws. However, Maryland does not have such a statute although victims of DUI accidents can have other valid claims.

The question we are asking today is – if an employee on duty caused a drunken accident, can his or her employer be held responsible and made to pay for the damages?

For the most part, the answer to this is not clear cut, it is a gray area and it really depends on the specifics of the individual case in question and the jurisdiction in which litigation has been initiated. If you need to know if you can sue the employer in your own case then we highly recommend that you go ahead and consult a Baltimore drunk driving accident attorney.

When can the employer be sued for an employee’s drunken crash?

In a general sense, under specific circumstances, yes! The employer can be sued and will have to pay, at least partly, for the damages caused by their drunken employee.

Some situations that qualify are as follows:

Employee was driving a vehicle owned by employer: A lawsuit can be filed against the employer based solely on this one condition and any Baltimore drunk driving accident lawyer knows about this. Certainly the legal professionals that work for the Injury Law Center.

Employee was driving home from a work party/event: If the employer had held a get together where alcohol was served and one of the employees had a few too many drinks and got behind the wheel and caused an accident, then the employer can in most cases be held liable. But hold up!

The challenges of suing an employer

One of the greatest hurdles in successfully suing the employer lies in proving the fact that the employee/drunk driver/suspect in question was actually on duty. The fact is that there are some employers who will categorically deny that the employee was on duty. This is a way for them to escape culpability. Also, the employer did not force that employee to drink or to drive and did not even know that employee would choose to drive off drunk!

This is where a Baltimore drunk driving accident lawyer will really shine. Remember, the burden of proving that the employee was indeed on duty is on you. As long as you have a legal professional by your side, he or she could logically, tactfully, and factually prove beyond doubt that the employee was in fact on duty at the time of the accident. The employee is in trouble regardless of which angle you look at it. There is no guarantee here. No one could expect the employer to know this employee was still working later in the evening and would drive drunk.

No matter what the situation is, if you have been hit by a drunk driver regardless if you were driving, walking, or on a Segway in the entire Eastern Maryland area, in and around Baltimore, you need to call up the Injury Law Center.