If you have been hurt at a business, you may be able to sue the owner of the company even if they were not directly involved with the accident. In legal terms, respondeat superior is a Latin term that translates to "let the master answer". This means that a business can be held responsible for the actions of its employees. Read on to learn more about this doctrine and how it applies to personal injury cases.
Legally Responsible
People who own a business take on the task of answering for the behavior of their employees. This way of viewing personal injury cases can benefit those who are harmed financially. For example, if the driver of a FedEx delivery vehicle hits a pedestrian while they are crossing at a crosswalk, the victim might not be able to recover much in the way of financial damages if they sue the driver. Since the driver's job is to deliver goods in a safe and efficient manner, the people in charge of that driver can be held just as responsible as the driver themselves. FedEx has what is known in legal lingo as "deep pockets" and is well able to pay out for the harm caused by their employee's actions. It is their responsibility to ensure that drivers are well-trained to do what they are supposed to do without mowing down pedestrians.
On the other hand, it's vital that the exact circumstances surrounding an accident be scrutinized. If the driver of the delivery vehicle decided to run some personal errands during their lunch break and they got into an accident during that time period, the company is not necessarily liable. While they may have been driving a company vehicle, the actions they were taking were not in the scope of or in the course of the job itself. The accident has to be directly linked to an employee's actions on the job, during working hours, as a result of a business practice or while performing a job function.
A Job Requirement
The business practices of a company can sometimes contribute to the cause of some accidents. Sometimes, employee rules and practices are enforced so strictly that failure to abide by the rule might cause the employee to lose their job. For example, a company keeps track of salespeople by requiring them to check in using their cell phones every hour on the hour. During one such check-in, the employee became distracted and rear-ended the car in front. The company could be held liable for damages since the employee was in fear of losing their job if they did not check in.
You might not, at first, know who is legally responsible for your injuries when an accident occurs. Speak to a personal injury attorney, like those at Gartner Law Firm, to have your case evaluated, and let a professional take on the burden of proving your case.
Share5 December 2018
After I was in a car accident, I wasn't sure what I was going to do in the future. I had some really significant back and neck pain, so I started talking with a lawyer about how to recover some of my losses. I began working with an attorney to take care of things, but I was nervous about how the process would unfold. I began working with the attorney to evaluate every component of the incident, and help me to decode the problems I was faced with. We worked on learning more about the lawsuit, and it helped me to make sense of the situation. Learn more about accidents on this blog.