Alleging Negligent Hiring In Commercial Vehicle Accident Cases

The concept of vicarious liability (also referred to as respondeat superior) holds that if an employee commits a tortious act that harms another person (a tort is essentially the civil version of a crime), their employer may be held liable for the damage in most situations. This concept is common in accidents involving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). That said, there is another way to hold an employer liable for the torts committed by their employers, and it is referred to as negligent hiring.

Florida Statute Protects Employers

At common law, the concept of negligent hiring is used to hold an employer liable when they have failed to perform due diligence in the hiring process. In other words, if an employee who is not fit to do a certain job is hired to do it, their employer will generally be held liable for any damages that result – if one hires a severely visually impaired person to drive a commercial vehicle, for example, damages will result, and the employer should likely have known better than to hire the driver.

That said, it is important to remember that Florida law contains a provision effectively immunizing most employers from liability for negligent hiring. The relevant law holds that as long as an employer does a thorough background check and finds no information that could be problematic, they are immune from liability for damages caused by that employee – the legislature assumes that such damages are unforeseeable at that point, and one cannot be held liable for the unforeseeable.

Know Which Law Applies

While negligent hiring will likely be a difficult case to win in Florida, negligent retention cases may be easier to handle. Negligent retention differs from negligent hiring only in terms of timing – if an employer hires someone unfit to drive a commercial vehicle, that may be negligent hiring, but if they retain the driver after they cause an accident, the employer may be committing a tort known as negligent retention.

Be advised that despite its name, negligent hiring does not involve any negligence on the part of the employee – rather, the ‘negligen[ce]” in the title refers to any negligence committed by the employer in hiring someone unfit to work for them. If you have been in a situation where an employee has allegedly committed an act of negligence, it is important to distinguish the two causes of action and file the right one in court.

Contact A Tampa Commercial Motor Vehicle Accident Attorney

The nature of the relationship between a commercial motor vehicle driver and their parent company can be a complex one. If an accident occurs, context will determine whether it can be laid at the foot of the CMV driver, their employer, or both. A Tampa commercial motor vehicle accident attorney from Rinaldo Law Group can help guide you through the legal process. Call our office today at (813) 831-9999 to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0768/Sections/0768.096.html