As a government contractor, or indeed any employer, one of the most worrying questions you can face is what will happen if one of your employees is injured or injures someone else. Are you responsible for their actions, and if so, could you face legal action?
Let’s take an example of a company based in Dallas, Texas. You have a number of salespeople on the road, and issue them with company cars as well as cell phones. One day, one of your salespeople is on a trip over to Richardson, but there is also a sales meeting at the time and you ask him to dial in. He does this while he is driving and becomes distracted. As a result, he fails to notice a stop sign and hits a pedestrian, severely injuring them. Are you liable?
You probably are. While Texas does not prohibit the use of cell phones when you are driving – although certain municipalities there do – hitting someone while you are distracted is negligent and therefore subject to civil prosecution. Furthermore, since you were the one that requested your employee dial-in to the call, you are likely to be the one who is sued by a Dallas area personal injury attorney such as Textrial.com.
On the other hand, there are circumstances under which you probably will not be liable. Let’s take that same salesman in Dallas. He is driving down Harry Hines Boulevard, and decides to give his mother in Houston a call to let her know he is going to come down for the weekend. He takes his attention off the road and runs into the back of another car, causing severe whiplash for both of the cars’ occupants. In this case, you are not likely to be held liable. However, the attorney representing the victims could argue that you should have anticipated that employees would do this, and it is possible that this argument would stand up in court. Therefore, it would be prudent for you to set up a documented training session when you issue a phone to an employee, explaining the risks and what constitutes misuse.
Your liability can even extend to cases where the employee commits a criminal act, even if you had no intent that they do this. Let’s come back to that Dallas salesman again. Part of his job is to create relationships with potential clients, and you encourage him to take customers out regularly for dinner and drinks in the evening. He does this, drinks too much, and hits a pedestrian while he is over the legal limit. The chances are you are going to be held liable in this case. However, if the salesman takes his company car out in the evening, drives to a bar to meet some friends, and then hits a pedestrian while drunk, you are unlikely to be prosecuted.
There are many other situations where you may be liable for your employees’ actions – for example, if you tell someone to drive an overloaded truck and they crash into a car while doing this. If you have a doubt about any particular instance, consult your lawyer to make sure you are protected.