In Texas, employers can be held vicariously liable or responsible for the actions and mistakes of their on-duty drivers. This legal doctrine can open your car accident insurance claim to additional coverage opportunities. For this reason, it is important to recognize when an employer rather than an individual employee may be held liable. Make sure to contact a car accident attorney in San Antonio for legal guidance and support.
What Is the Legal Doctrine of Vicarious Liability?
Vicarious liability describes a specific legal circumstance where an employer can be held accountable for the actions of an employee if they result in harm to others. If an employee is negligent, or fails to use proper care, and this leads to an automobile accident while the employee is driving for work-related purposes, the employer can be held vicariously responsible.
Examples include:
- Police officers
- Firetruck and ambulance drivers
- Garbage truck drivers
- Utility workers
- Tow truck drivers
- Commercial truck drivers
- Delivery drivers
- Amazon, USPS, UPS and FedEx drivers
- Road sales representatives
- Employees running work errands
Vicarious liability is also known as “respondeat superior,” which translates to “let the master answer.” In personal injury and automobile accident law, this legal doctrine states that an employer is legally responsible for an employee. It requires employers to answer for the negligence of workers by offering insurance coverage to anyone injured in accidents caused by their on-duty employees.
Employer vs. Employee Liability
The vicarious liability doctrine only applies when an employee is on-duty or acting within the course and scope of employment. If a driver was off-duty at the time of a car accident – such as while commuting to or from work – the individual driver would be held liable rather than the company.
If an employee was driving purely for personal acts and not for work, his or her personal automobile insurance will cover an accident rather than liability going to the company. If a rideshare driver was not logged into the Uber or Lyft app at the time of the crash, for example, only the individual driver could be held accountable.
Independent Contractors
In general, independent contractors do not fall under the legal doctrine of vicarious liability. Since they are self-employed, they are responsible for their own actions; responsibility for a car crash cannot go to the entity that contracted the worker, even if the person was on-duty for a job at the time of the accident.
However, there is an exception under federal law for commercial truck drivers. Many truck drivers are independently contracted or truck owner/operators. To improve safety measures among trucking companies, however, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration holds companies responsible for accidents caused by their truck drivers, regardless of their status as independent contractors vs. employees.
How a Car Accident Lawyer Can Help
If you get involved in a car accident in Texas and find out that the other driver was operating a motor vehicle for work, it is important to consult with an attorney about your legal options. You may be able to hold more than just the individual driver financially responsible for your losses. Identifying all sources of financial compensation can maximize your recovery.
Employers will often go to great lengths to protect themselves from absorbing liability for motor vehicle accidents involving their drivers. Give yourself the greatest odds of a successful injury claim against a large and powerful employer in San Antonio by working with a San Antonio personal injury attorney at Hill Law Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers.