Distracted driving lawsuits against employers: a solution for victims
Our Houston car accident attorneys recently mentioned the emergence of distracted driving lawsuits as a strong feature in the legal landscape. The lawsuits are particularly noteworthy as they relate to employer liability for employee actions on the job.
Companies that allow their employees to talk on their cell phones or to text while behind the wheel are increasingly finding themselves of multi-million dollar claims for the injury and fatality accidents that result form employees’ distracted driving. And juries and judges, anxious to discourage a practice that threatens their own lives, are happy to oblige claimants with large damages awards.
An Alabama trucking company was ordered to pay $18 million after one of its truckers caused a serious accident reaching for a cell phone. An Arkansas lumber company paid $16.1 million after one of its salesmen crippled a 78-year-old woman in a distracted driving accident. The large liability awards are encouraging more and more corporations to ban cell phone use among employees.
Research has shown that drivers using cell phones to talk or text have a risk of causing an accident that’s four times higher than that of other drivers. Using a phone in company car, using a company-issued phone in your own car, or making a business call on any phone in any vehicle, are all acts that could put a company on the hook for a large liability award in a distracted driving lawsuit.
Consequently, many of the Fortune 500 companies have banned all use of cell phones by employees while driving, and more companies are joining their ranks every year. Shell, Chevron, Time Warner, CSX, Dupont, and UPS stand among those companies that have banned employee cell phone use. The U.S. NTSB recommended a total ban on cell phone use by anyone behind the wheel back in December 2011. Observers of the issue agree that this recommendation provided additional impetus to corporate efforts to ban employee cell phone use.
Of course, our Houston car accident attorneys realize that employees continue to violate the ban for personal convenience. Most people would like others to abide by the restriction against cell phone use behind the wheel even while continuing to use the phones themselves.
But the victim of a distracted driving accident, or the victim’s family members or lawyers, have the ability to obtain cell phone records regarding the driver that caused their accident. Those records could indicate that a distracted driving lawsuit implicating the employer might provide a victim with the ability to obtain the just financial recovery that they deserve after a needless distracted driving accident.
Contact our experienced Houston car accident attorneys to learn more about your eligibility for a full financial recovery after a needless distracted driving accident. Distracted driving crashes are 100% preventable. When they occur, our knowledge and experience could help you understand where an employer might be vicariously liable for the accident and what you could do to obtain a fair recovery. Call or email us today to schedule a free legal consultation. Our Houston car accident attorneys have the skill and the resources to help, and we don’t charge attorney’s fees unless you win your claim.