If your employee is in a\u00a0car accident on company time or in a company vehicle, are you responsible as an employer? What insurance is available to protect you in\u00a0a work-related car accident?<\/p>\n
It can depend on the particular circumstances, but there is a good chance you are responsible for accidents by employees in company cars or on company time. There is a doctrine in the law called\u00a0\u201crespondeat superior,” which means “let the master answer.”<\/p>\n
In other words, a business owner is\u00a0held liable in such cases in many cases. The same would be true in that a restaurant<\/a> is\u00a0held liable if a waiter spills a bowl of soup on a customer\u00a0and a plumbing contractor is\u00a0liable if a worker doesn’t install pipes correctly.<\/p>\n Various state courts have held to this statue, but they have also ruled that a company is not automatically responsible for all<\/em> conduct of an employee during work time.<\/p>\n Even though an employer is often responsible for accidents on work time or in a company vehicle, he or she is usually not responsible for an accident by an employee on the way to work under a rule called the “coming and going” rule.<\/p>\n In\u00a0Taylor Vs. Toyota, however, the California Court of Appeals ruled a car dealership should pay for injuries caused by an accident when an employee running a personal errand, using a car from the dealership, rear-ended another vehicle because the dealership had given the employee an implied or express permission to use it. Even though the dealership had procedures to keep track of cars used for personal errands, the court ruled the business had not taken adequate steps to ensure employees were not using cars for personal errands.<\/p>\n Employers may even be held liable for an employee’s accident on the way to a company picnic even though attendance is only “incidental” to work duties.<\/p>\n What kind of insurance is available to protect your business in case an employee of yours is in a work-related car accident? You can cover\u00a0either all autos your business owns; all cars your business owns, plus vehicles it leases or hires<\/a>; or all cars used for your business, including those your company does not hire, lease, or own.<\/p>\n There are a number of types of coverage you can buy:<\/p>\nWhen An Employer Is Or Is Not Responsible<\/h2>\n
What Kind Of Coverage Is Available<\/h2>\n
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How Does Workers\u2019 Compensation\u00a0Factor In?<\/h2>\n