If a vehicle accident occurs and the individual is driving a vehicle which he or she is using to perform work duties there may be employer liability involved. This is very often the case in which the driver of a truck or other commercial vehicle is the cause of the accident in which case as the injured party you will most certainly want to hire a truck accident attorney in Pittsburgh to sue the employer. Whether it turns out that the employer is liable or not depends on finding some reason for assigning the responsibility to the employer.
When does an employer become liable?
There are really two main ways in which the employer can be held responsible for an accident that was caused by an employee; negligence and vicarious liability.
* Employer negligence: This may come into play if the employer was negligent in hiring the employee or was negligent in the supervision of the employee. If a company hires someone to drive a truck the company has a responsibility to ensure that the employee is a safe driver and is skilled in operating the vehicle.
At the bare minimum, even if the employee is not bound to driving a truck the employer must at least make sure the employee has a valid commercial driver’s license and is not under suspension for any reason. A wise employer will take precautions such as checking the past driving record or insist that the potential driver subject himself to drug testing.
* Negligent supervision: Employers are expected to have safety procedures in place and to make sure their truck drivers comply with them. Truck drivers must follow logging requirements which are set by the state of federal law and the employer must check to ensure that his drivers are exhibiting care and skill when performing their job.
* Vicarious liability: This is an area of law that your truck accident attorney in Pittsburg can explain. Basically this is a legal doctrine that asserts that the actions of an agent (the driver) are essentially the same as the actions of the principle (employer) who is responsible for directing the agent. Simply put, when the employee is directed to do something by the employer it is the same as if the principle was performing the task.
