On The Job Auto Accidents

Cindy Speaker: What special issues come up when someone is involved in an auto accident and the at-fault driver was on the job?  That’s our topic on this episode of Main Street Law.  My guest is Los Angeles personal injury attorney Peter Steinberg of Steinberg and Spencer and he’s going to talk with this about this topic.  So Peter thanks for being with us today.

Peter Steinberg: Always happy to talk to you Cindy.

Cindy Speaker: Well Peter tell us what are some of the special issues that come up when someone is involved in an auto accident and the at-fault driver was on the job?

Peter Steinberg: Well, first of all we have to locate the driver’s employer.  Sometimes that’s not easy.  But generally we get to that within a pretty brief period of time.  After that it’s just important to establish that he wasn’t—he or she indeed was on the job when the accident occurred.

Cindy Speaker: Okay now, does that mean that the employer can be held responsible for the actions of the employee?

Peter Steinberg: Absolutely and that’s a very beneficial thing when it comes to an auto accident.  Often times when there are serious injuries an individual does not have adequate insurance coverage.  When responsible party is in the course and scope of employment, in other words working at the time of the accident, then there is a frequently much more substantial insurance policy available.

Cindy Speaker: Okay, now if the at-fault driver was on the job which insurance would come in to play?  Would it be the driver’s own auto insurance or the employer’s vehicle insurance?

Peter Steinberg: Well generally when the responsible driver causes an accident and he is in the course and scope of employment, his employer’s insurance policy would cover our client’s damages.

Cindy Speaker: Okay.  So does that mean that the employees own auto insurance policy would not be involved in this type of claim?

Peter Steinberg: That’s correct Cindy.  His policy would not be applicable generally speaking.

Cindy Speaker: Peter what if the at fault driver was drunk?  Can the employer be held responsible for the negligence of the employee and if so, how would that affect the claim?

Peter Steinberg: Well definitely the employer would be held responsible for the negligence of its employee.  And if the employee is under the influence that might make our client’s claim more substantial.

Cindy Speaker: Alright.  Now are there times in this situation when punitive damages can come into play, depending on the severity of what the at-fault driver did or the behavior that caused the accident?

Peter Steinberg: You know, every case is different Cindy but if a responsible is in the course and scope of employment and he or she is driving under the influence it is possible that punitive damages could be leveled.

Cindy Speaker: Okay well this is certainly complicated.  Peter if someone has specific question how they can reach you?

Peter Steinberg: Our toll-free number Cindy is 1-800-350-8888 and we have somebody available nearly 24/7.  They could also go to our website that’s www.steinbergspencer.com.

Cindy Speaker: Very good.  Well Peter thank you for being with us today.

Peter Steinberg: My pleasure Cindy always nice to talk.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker from Main Street Law.

Job Related Auto Accidents

Video Transcription:
Cindy Speaker: What special issues come up when someone is involved in an auto accident and the at fault driver was on the job? That’s our topic today and my guest is Houston attorney, Terry Bryant. Terry, it’s nice to have you with me today.

Terry Bryant: I’m glad to be here. One of the things that happens when a person is hit by someone who is working for a company is to make sure that the coverage of the company would come into play. That is the people who were working for these big companies’ out driving 18 wheelers and other large trucks that are involved with accidents with my clients often times have additional insurance available to them.

Cindy Speaker: Okay. So you’re saying then that employer is definitely held responsible in these claims?

Terry Bryant: The employer would be held responsible if the employee was on a mission for the employer.

Cindy Speaker: What about if the at fault driver was driving a company vehicle but he was not on company time, how does that work?

Terry Bryant: That’s a much more difficult situation because if the person was not on a mission for the employer, he or she would not necessarily be covered by insurance. However, often times there are insurance policies that cover the vehicle regardless of whether the person is actually working or not.

Cindy Speaker: Let me ask you another question. What if the at fault driver was drunk, or in some way negligent. Can the employer be held responsible for that?

Terry Bryant: The employer can be held responsible for what the employer knew. So if the person was given the keys to a company vehicle and the employer knew that the person was drunk, then we would have a cause of action against the employer for what we call negligent entrustment.

Cindy Speaker: Okay. But if the employer did not know that the employee was drunk, is there still that type of action?

Terry Bryant: It’s not always that clear cut. Basically, there may be situations in which the employer has some knowledge and the jury would have to make the determination as to whether or not that was enough knowledge.

Cindy Speaker: I’ve heard that on occasion, if an employee who is at fault in an accident has somewhat of a past history, maybe of negligent behavior, maybe drunk driving was in their past, etcetera, is there a way that the employer is held responsible because he hired someone that really was not fit for the job?

Terry Bryant: Right. That happens often where the employer does not do a proper background check, particularly for truck drivers or other people that are going to be out driving for the employer. The employer should make sure that the people that they’re hiring are capable of safely driving on the streets in Texas.

Cindy Speaker: I have one other question. Are there times in these scenarios where punitive damages would come into play?

Terry Bryant: Yes, punitive damages come into play when the jury determines that someone, whether it be a company or an individual is grossly negligent. If they are found to be grossly negligent, the jury can award what is called punitive damages. Damages to punish the individual for the negligence and carelessness that’s caused harm to other people.

Cindy Speaker: Okay. This is certainly complicated stuff. Terry, if someone has specific problems or questions, how could they reach you?

Terry Bryant: My toll free number is 1-800-444-5000 and we have a website, www.terrybryant.com.

Cindy Speaker: Terry, thank you so much for your time today.

Terry Bryant: Thank you for having me.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker.

Job Related Auto Accidents

Video Transcript:
Cindy Speaker: Job related auto accident injuries, that’s our topic for today and my guests is South Carolina attorney, George Sink. George, how are you doing today?

George Sink: I’m doing fine, how are you, Cindy?

Cindy Speaker: Very good. Well, George, I know that you handle all kinds of personal injury cases, but I’ve heard that one kind of case that you handle is particularly complex and that is this area of job related auto accident injuries.

George Sink: This is a fascinating area and the big idea to keep in mind is Workers Compensation which should be a job injury relates to permanent injuries most of the time. So you look for permanent injuries.

Now auto, you can have almost any sort of injury—something that hopefully will go away in a little while which is not permanent, and so if you’re on the job driving a car and you’re in an auto collision, you have to do some quick sorting. It takes a little bit of thought to decide which case or both to pursue.

Cindy Speaker: So when you say which case to pursue, then what you’re talking about is, am I correct, a case relevant to your employment and being hurt on the job, but there’s a second case because of the auto accident?

George Sink: Absolutely! And that’s a 50/50 proposition. In South Carolina, if you’re in an auto collision and it’s your fault. Let’s say you run into the rear of someone, you can’t bring a claim against that person you hit. Or you can, but you cannot recover, but if you are on the job and you’re going to the store to pick up something and you run in the rear of somebody, you can bring successfully a Workers Compensation claim if you have the right injuries for that accident.

Cindy Speaker: And what exactly does that mean to bring a claim?

George Sink: What that means was, in the history of the development of the legislative structure, which we now call Workers Compensation law, in exchange for a worker’s right to bring a claim to get money for an injury they sustained on the job, they had to give up their right to sue their employer, so now, instead of going to the courts, they go to a legislative mandated system of recovery for injuries which occur on the job, so accidental injuries on the job, you go to this legislative structure and they call it Workers Compensation.

Otherwise, you’re free to use the courts if it’s not on the job, so you gave up your right to sue your employer in almost every case. If they came up and hit you in the head with a baseball bat deliberately, that would fall outside the scope of that naturally, but in general, you can’t sue your employers.

Cindy Speaker: Suppose, I have an employee and that employee rear ends somebody else, so he’s at fault, but he’s injured, is it widely known by employees that they have a claim.

George Sink: They would have a claim against you in your own business. The insurance company who insures the Workers Compensation for that business would pay. If they were waiting at the light and someone hit them in the rear, it wasn’t their fault. They have an automobile claim, a tort claim against that person who hit them in the rear and if they’re seriously injured, they have a Workers Compensation claim. How those two work together is fascinating.

The big thing to watch is, you can’t settle your auto claim while the comp claim is pending because there is interacting liens the Workers Comp system has a right to get money back from you if you recover from the auto claim to pay for weekly pay and other medical bills that the Workers Compensation system would probably pay for while you’re recovering.

So they have that interaction that’s sort of complicated.

Cindy Speaker: I would think that the average person would not understand this at all.

George Sink: They don’t and it’s fun to educate them and usually the people that come trust us, so we’re able to do it very easily and we tell them what to do, we guide them gently through the system, we have them file the right forms for Workers Compensation, bring the right claims for the auto accident and the big thing is the chemistry between those two. How do you handle it for example, if you had a serious auto accident while you were on the job, the Workers Compensation system says you have to use the employer’s doctors—the ones the system prescribes, so you start off with them and if you’re not happy with them, you can get your own doctors outside of that system, but you have to pay for them.

So it’s sort of complicated, and you have to balance the cost, keep track of all of that, but eventually it all works out, but these systems are interrelated in a way it could be confusing to the ordinary person so it gives me some joy to explain it to them because it does work out well in the end, but it’s a little bit of a confusion in the middle. It’s usually a little—it’s tougher in Workers Compensation because the statutes are just what they are. You have to comply with them and it has to be noticed within a certain amount of time, you have to do this, you have to check the right box in this form and that form so it’s very precise and the auto, it’s a little easier, but the interrelationship between those two is, I’d say very difficult for anyone except a trained lawyer to understand.

Cindy Speaker: Well, George if somebody needs more information in South Carolina. They’ve been in a work related accident and they need somebody to help them, how can they reach you?

George Sink: Oh, we’d be glad to talk to them if they called 1-800-849-SINK or they can find us on our website at www.sinklaw.com. We’re here available all hours of the day and night, so please feel free to call and we’re delighted to talk to anybody who has any questions.

Cindy Speaker: Very good. George, thanks so much.

George Sink: Thank you, Cindy.

Cindy Speaker: Until next time, this is Cindy Speaker for State Law TV.