Imagine you are in a car accident in Atlanta on I-285 near Sandy Springs and you broke your arm and leg. During the investigation, it appeared that the person who caused the accident may have been working at the time. If that is true, the negligent party’s employer could be held legally responsible for your injuries under the ‘vicarious liability’ concept. Learn more about vicarious liability related to car accidents, then talk to our Atlanta car accident lawyer now at Shani O. Brooks PC for legal assistance with your claim.
Sometimes an employer can be found liable for their worker’s negligence in a car accident. This can be the case if the worker was driving a company vehicle or their own. Remember that the employer is not being blamed for being negligent; instead, the company must answer if their employee was careless behind the wheel and injured someone.
A company being vicariously liable for a worker’s negligent actions is, according to the legal concept ‘respondent superior,’ which means ‘let the superior answer.’ For this concept to be in effect, your Georgia car accident attorney must prove several things:
As explained earlier, vicarious liability can come into play in car accidents when an employee, acting in the scope of their employment at the time, gets in a car accident and injures someone else. There are scenarios and occupations where vicarious liability could apply:
Suppose a taxi company hires a driver who does not have an active driver’s license to drive for them. The unlicensed driver hits you in Atlanta and injures you. You could sue the driver and their employer for your injuries and damages.
If a tractor-trailer driver is an employee of the trucking company and injures you, they could be held liable. However, if the trucker is an independent contractor, different rules could apply, so speak to your personal injury attorney.
Another way a company could be liable for their employee’s accident is if they have the worker drive as part of their job. For instance, if the driver is a sales professional and must drive from the office to a client’s business and an accident happens, the driver is acting within the scope of their employment. Note, however, that this is not the same as a sales professional commuting to and from work every day.
You could be eligible for compensation if you were hurt in a car accident in Atlanta and the other driver caused it. Also, if the other driver was working during the crash, their employer could be vicariously liable for their injuries. To learn if your car accident case involves vicarious liability, speak to our Atlanta car accident attorney at Shani O. Brooks PC today at (404) 920-4736.