Injured in an accident involving a company vehicle? Who is liable when an employee causes a car accident while on the job?

When a person driving a car in order to carry out their work duties or while on the job causes a car accident then it is possible that there may be employee liability involved. This can also influence any car accident insurance claim. Employers are held liable in most truck accident cases where the driver of the commercial truck negligently caused the auto accident.

However, when it comes to car accidents caused by employees, whether or not the employer can be held liable and sued in a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit depends on if there exists a legitimate legal reason for assigning responsibility to the employee, according to profound car accident lawyers in Flagstaff, AZ.

When does employee liability arise?

There are broadly two ways in which an employer can be held liable and made to pay damages for an auto accident caused by one of their employees. These are, namely, employer negligence and vicarious liability. Employer negligence can further be divided to employer negligence and negligent supervision.

Distracted driving will always be a threat until autonomous cars take over. If you need a car accident lawyer in Flagstaff, AZ you need to use USAttorneys.com. With this website, the future is already here. 

Employer negligence

Arizona accident attorneys point out that employer negligence, as the name suggests, is when the employer is negligent and this negligence somehow resulted in the car accident. To give you an example of employer negligence, if a company hired a driver who was not qualified or his/her driver's license was suspended then the employer can be held liable courtesy of employer negligence.

It is legally required and also reasonable to ask that the employer check and ensure that an employee who will have to operate a vehicle as part of their duty be qualified to do so. The employee must have a valid driver’s license. Some employers go the extra mile and also check criminal history (if any) and subject the employee to random drug screening.

Now if you want to see a prolific example of someone or something going the extra mile you should watch Bad Boys II! In this movie Martin Lawrence (Detective Marcus Burnett) and Will Smith (Detective Mike Lowrey) go to Cuba to save Burnett’s sister since she was kidnapped by a drug kingpin. They have support from the Miami SWAT team and even Delta Force. Now this is going the extra mile! This was unsanctioned though. A President like President Obama would never allow this. He allowed a marine to languish in a Mexican prison for a year!

Burnett and Lowrey get the job done though! They save Burnett’s sister!

If your employer goes the extra mile to keep people safe and to keep a tab on their employees, good for them.

Negligent supervision

Negligent supervision is when a company lacks sufficient protocols, policies, and procedures regarding safety or when they have these procedures yet fail to ensure that their employees actually abide by these policies and procedures. Flagstaff, AZ accident lawyers say that this is the most common way in which employer liability arises.

Vicarious liability

Vicarious liability is different from employer negligence and negligent supervision in the sense that it does not even require any explicit wrongdoing or omission of action from the employer’s side. Vicarious liability is based on the principle of respondeat superior. Essentially, it means that the employee is considered an agent and the employer the principle, and the principle is responsible for any and all of the agent’s actions.

If you are involved in a car accident, it is always best to receive professional assistance and guidance from an Arizona auto accident lawyer.

Your legal pro will be able to help you seek compensation for economic, non-economic, and punitive damages by filing a civil lawsuit against the liable party. If you choose to settle with the insurer, your legal rep can play a vital role in negotiating a settlement and if they have to go to court, then so be it! 

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