Employers Liable for Workplace Car Accidents

You wouldn’t ask someone who’s worked a 12-hour day to operate a complex piece of machinery in a workshop, so why are some employers asking their employees to drive a car or van under the same conditions? It places too many people (the employee, other motorists and pedestrians) at risk for a car accident.

In 2007, a company settled a multimillion dollar case, resulting from a rear-end car accident that cost a Georgia woman her arm. She was rear-ended by a company employee, driving a company car and using a company issued mobile phone at the time of the accident.

In 2007, a UK court ruled that an employee could sue his employer for accident damages. The 23-year-old kitchen fitter worked 19 hours and fell asleep at the wheel. The car accident left him paralyzed.

A restaurant promises delivery in 30 minutes "or your order is free." If the delivery person strikes and injures a pedestrian while trying to deliver within the deadline, employers can be held legally responsible for the accident.

The Work Culture Contributes to Driving Accidents

There’s current pressure on employees to work harder and more hours. Many drivers may be asked or even feel pressured to do extra shifts. Concerns about performance, promotion and just plain, old job security worries may make employees override their judgment and drive even when they know they shouldn’t. This culture dices with their life and the lives of others by causing driving accidents.

Employers Need to Manage Occupational Car Accidents

Employers have a duty of care toward every employee, whether they’re based in an office or out on the road. Employees who are driving on company business are undertaking a work activity and the vehicle they are driving, despite ownership, is regarded as a place of work.

It is really up to the employer to note if a worker is spending excessive hours behind a wheel or properly recording traffic violations and rectify the situation to prevent a possible car accident.

The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends ways employers can prevent the car accidents, the leading cause of work-related fatalities:

• Employers should establish and enforce workplace driver safety policies to prevent job-related accidents
• Demonstrate their authority to set and enforce driver safety policy to avoid accidents
• Set schedules that allow adequate time for employees to make deliveries or visit clients without violating traffic laws or safety regulations—and avoid accidents

In recent years, victims of accidents are pursuing litigation against the driver’s employer as well as the driver, and they are experiencing success. Let Seeger Weiss help you by filling out this form today for a free consultation.

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