|
March 2012
Employer Liability for "Off Duty" Crashes Due to Cell
Phone Use
Employers may be held accountable for the negligent
acts of employees committed in the
course of employment
Although only a few high-profile cases have been
publicized, employers should be concerned that they might be held liable for
accidents caused by their employees who are driving their own vehicles and
conducting work-related conversations on cell phones.
In one case, International Paper Co. paid a $5.2 million
settlement to a woman who was rear-ended by one of its employees. The employee
was driving a company car and talking on a company cell phone at the time of the
accident. The settlement was reached even though the employee had violated her
company’s policy of requiring the use of hands-free headsets while driving.
Under the doctrine of vicarious liability, employers may
be held accountable for the negligent acts of employees committed in the course
of employment. It will not matter if it’s a company car or company cell phone:
-
Employers may also be found negligent if they fail to put in place a policy
for the safe use of cell phones. You need a cell phone policy in your
employee handbook. Practically speaking, you need a cell phone and texting
policy that requires employees to pull off the road before conducting
business by cell phone.
-
As to texting, a study by the Highway Loss Data
Institute found that texting bans may not reduce crash rates. It’s been
reported recently that 18 percent of drivers in the U.S. admitted texting
while driving in the last 30 days. This includes 31 percent of drivers age
16 to 24, 41 percent of drivers age 25 to 39 and 5 percent of drivers 55 and
older.
|
|
|
