3 Scenarios In Which You Could Be Liable For Your Employee's Injuries In A Vehicle
When you run a company and have drivers for you, you likely know that if one of them were injured on the job — working on your time and using your vehicle — that you could be found liable. This employee could hire an attorney, pursue a workers' compensation suit, and you may need to pay for the employee's medical bills and other damages. What you might not know is that there can be other vehicle-related scenarios in which you can be held liable, even if your employee isn't employed as a driver. Here are three scenarios about which to be aware.
1. Driving Your Employee To A Meeting
Sometimes, employers will choose to hold meetings at off-site locations, such as a local restaurant. You may occasionally do this, and you may sometimes drive one or more employees with you in your vehicle. Should you be in an accident and one of your employees get injured, you could be held liable for a workers' compensation suit because the employee was hurt during work hours. And, even though he or she wasn't specifically at work, the employee was traveling to a work-related function.
2. Having Your Employee Complete A Driving-Related Task
There can be scenarios in which you have an employee drive somewhere to do something for you, even if driving isn't specifically in his or her job description. For example, perhaps you're having a pizza day on a Friday to celebrate a productive week, and instead of having the pizzas delivered, you ask your administrative assistant to drive to the pizza restaurant to pick up the order. If he or she were to be hurt in an accident, you'd likely face a workers' comp case because the outing was work-related.
3. An Employee Injured During Travel
It's possible that your employees will need to travel for various work functions. Training, for example, may take place in a different state and your employees may need to fly there. Once they land, these employees will often have to rent cars to travel to and from their hotel and training sessions, and it's possible that an accident and subsequent injury could take place. This is yet another scenario that may have you facing a workers' compensation case. These scenarios don't mean that you need to need to restrict your employees from ever being in vehicles, as this can be difficult. You should, however, be aware of what scenarios could lead to workers' comp situations.
For more information, contact a law office like Dawson & Associates, LLC.
