Liability??driver or Company

[lostinbaltimore]

I was driving a company vehical in maryland..i approached a light and foot slipped of brake pedal because the ruber piece was missing on the brake pedal..can the person i hit while on company time and vehical sue me personally in this case..i got a summons showing me and the company being sued??

 

[JETX]

Certainly, as the driver of the vehicle that caused the damages, you can be sued. Your position, if you want to try to make it, would be that the company knowingly provided an unsafe vehicle for you to drive since the rubber pad was missing from the brake pedal. The company will then respond that you knew the rubber pad was missing (after all you were driving the vehicle at the time) and that YOU were responsible for reporting the unsafe condition. Your failure to do this probably violates some company safety policy, making you liable to punishment or being fired. Further, you (or the company) would have to prove that the missing rubber pad was the sole cause of the accident (unlikely) and that the missing rubber pad was not due to negligence.

Now, do you really want to raise that issue to defend yourself.

Talk with your employer (or union if one) and see if they will provide your legal counsel to represent you in the lawsuit. If not, then you get the thrill of getting your own lawyer just as you would if you were driving your own personal car.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I was driving a company vehical in maryland..i approached a light and foot slipped of brake pedal because the ruber piece was missing on the brake pedal..can the person i hit while on company time and vehical sue me personally in this case..i got a summons showing me and the company being sued??

My response:

Simple answer : Yes.

It doesn't matter that the rubber was missing from the pedal. When you undertook to drive that vehicle, you accepted the risks of its condition. You could, and should, have replaced the rubber yourself, or refused to drive it in that condition. That rubber, as small as it is, and as you discovered, is a safety issue.

Under the common law doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer, innocent of active fault, is vicariously liable for the torts of employees committed while acting within the scope of their employment. [Perez v Van Groningen & Sons, Inc. (1986) 41 Cal 3d 962, 227 Cal Rptr 106, 719 P2d 676] The employer’s responsibility for the torts of an employee extends beyond the actual or possible control of the employee to injuries which are the risks of the enterprise.

And here's the real kicker - - your employer can, in the same lawsuit, cross-complain against you for indemnity for all monies it pays to the injured parties, theoretically and possibly making you responsible, at trial, for all claimed damages.

I hope there's insurance somewhere for you.

IAAL

 

[JETX]

I defer to my friend IAAL. He says it so much purtier than I do!!