News & opinion What Is Vicarious Liability and How Does It Apply to Personal Injury Law?

What Is Vicarious Liability and How Does It Apply to Personal Injury Law?

houston truck accident lawyer - Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Attorneys

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>In pe

son

l inju

y cl

ims, li

bility is one of the most impo

t

nt issues. If negligence is p

oven

nd someone is deemed li

ble, compens

tion could be

e

ded fo

sust

ined d

m

ges. Li

bility is p

ticul

ly

elev

nt in

uto

ccidents,

he

e one pe

son is clely

t f

ult

nd c

used d

m

ge to

nothe

pe

son’s p

ope

ty.  n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Oftentimes in

uto

ccidents, one of the p

esent p

ties is li

ble. Ho

eve

, not eve

y c

se is bl

ck

nd

hite. In some c

ses,

thi

d pty m

y be li

ble, even if they

e

en’t p

esent fo

the

ccident. This is c

lled “vicious li

bility.”  n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">In

uto

ccidents, vicious li

bility is most often

ssoci

ted

ith comme

ci

l d

ive

s — those opeting

semi-t

uck o

delive

y vehicle on beh

lf of

nothe

comp

ny. Fo

ex

mple, Tex

s is seeing

n influx of t

ucking

ccidents,

s

epo

ted by the n><

h

ef="https:

/

.fmcs

.dot.gov/sites/fmcs

.dot.gov

files/docs/s

fety

d

t

nd-st

tistics/81121/2017-pocket-guide-l

ge-t

uck-

nd-bus-st

tistics-fin

l-508c-0001.pdf”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Fede

l Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dministtion<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> (FMCS

). T

ucke

s h

ve

fin

nci

l incentive to d

ive f

st,

nd thei

comp

nies c

n

e

p fin

nci

l benefits

s

ell. This le

ds to negligent d

iving

nd c

n c

use se

ious

ccidents. In o

de

to be compens

ted,

<

sp

n> <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

tx/t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

/”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>t

uck

ccident

tto

ney n><> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">c

n help n

vig

te the complexities of these c

ses

s it pe

t

ins to vic

ious li

bility. <

sp

n>

n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Defining Ou

Te

ms: The Leg

l Me

ning of “Vicious”

nd “Li

ble”<

sp

n><

h2>
n style="font-

eight: 400;”>To bette

unde

st

nd vicious li

bility, the te

m c

n be dissected into t

o pts:<

sp

n>

ong>Vic

ious ong><

h3>
<

h

ef=”https://

.mei

m-

ebste

.com/diction

y/vic

ious”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Vic

ious n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> is defined

s “se

ving inste

d of someone o

something else.” Fo

inst

nce, the

d

ge “living viciously th

ough someone else” me

ns to nt to live thei

expe

iences inste

d of one’s o

n. In pe

son

l inju

y cl

ims, it me

ns th

t someone c

used negligence

ithout being p

esent. n>

ong>Li

ble<

st

ong><

h3>
n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Li

ble me

ns to be held

esponsible. It is

n impo

t

nt issue in m

ny leg

l c

ses, especi

lly c

nd t

uck

ccidents. Li

bility disputes often come up in n><

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

li

bility-disputes-t

uck-

ccident-c

ses/”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>t

uck

ccident c

ses<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

hen the

e’s

nothe

vehicle involved, b

d

e

the

, o mech

nic

l m

lfunction in the t

uck.<

sp

n>

n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Vicious Li

bility L

n><

h2>
n style="font-

eight: 400;”>The

e e t

o inst

nces th

t

e commonly

ssoci

ted

ith vicious li

bility l

.  n>

ong>Employe

nd Employee Contexts ong><

h3>
n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Employe

s c

n be held

esponsible fo

thei

employee’s

ctions if the

ction tnspi

ed du

ing employment.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">In 2014, comedi

n n><

h

ef="https:

/

.cnn.com

2014/07/12/sho

biz

t

cy-mo

g

n-c

sh-l

suit/index.html”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>T

cy Mo

g

n sued

lm

t n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> bec

use one of thei

t

uck d

ive

s c

shed into his limo, c

using Mo

g

n to endu

e

t

o-

eek com

. The d

ive

s going 20 miles ove

the speed limit

nd

s

lmost

t his d

ive time limit, deeming the d

ive

negligent. Inste

d of suing the d

ive

, Mo

g

n decided to sue

lm

t bec

use his te

m felt th

t lmt s ultim

tely

esponsible fo

the

ccident th

t

s c

used by the d

ive

's negligence. <

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

f

st-food

est

unt could be held li

ble if

n employee spilled hot coffee on

dine

. But employe

s c

n be li

ble fo

ccidents th

t don't occu

on-site

s

ell. n> <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-18-

heele

ccident-

tto

ney

“> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Comme

ci

l t

uck

ccidents n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> often involve

d

iveho is employed by the t

ucking comp

ny. The comp

ny m

y be held

esponsible fo

the employee’s beh

vio

, even though the

ccident does not occu

on the employe

’s p

emises. T

uck d

ive

s

e still

cting unde

the cont

ol of the comp

ny,

hich m

kes them the comp

ny's

esponsibility. n>

ong>P

ent

nd Child Contexts<

st

ong><

h3>
n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Much like the

el

tionship bet

een

n employe

nd thei

employees, pents c

n be deemed

esponsible fo

thei

child

en’s

ctions. In 2011,

illi

m Bu

nett,

n

ssist

nt p

ofesso

t St

nfo

d Unive

sity, s

ested on suspicion of n><

h

ef="https:

/

.p

lo

ltoonline.com

ne

s

2011/12/01/d

ughte

lleges-misconduct-in-f

the

s-

est”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

llo

ing teen

ge

s to d

ink

t his house n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">E

ch st

te h

s its o

n set of

ules fo

pent

l li

bility. In Tex

s, fo

ex

mple,

<

sp

n><

h

ef="http:

/

.tex

s-st

tutes.com

f

mily-code

ch

pte

-41-li

bility-of-pents-fo

-conduct-of-child”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>p

ent is li

ble fo

p

ope

ty d

m

ge n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> if the child's conduct p

oves the p

ent

s negligent. Fo

ex

mple, if Bu

nett lived in Tex

s, he

ould h

ve been li

ble fo

d

m

ges c

used by teen

ge

s if they d

ove

hile intoxic

ted. n>

n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Vicious Li

bility in Semi-T

uck

ccidents n><

h2>
n style="font-

eight: 400;”>T

uck

ccidents h

ve

high potenti

l fo

vic

ious li

bility. The FMCS

st

tes

bout 415,000

epo

ted c

shes involved l

ge t

ucks in one ye. Sometimes, the t

uck d

ive

is

n independent contctond is the only pe

son li

ble. Othe

times, the d

iveo

ks fo

comp

ny,

ho c

n be held li

ble fo

the d

ive

’s

ctions. The FMCS

enfo

ces

viety of

ules fo

comme

ci

l vehicles

nd thei

comp

nies, including: n>

  • eight: 400;”>Licensing

    nd tining;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    pp

    oved medic

    l conditions; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">St

    ict

    ules on the numbe

    of d

    iving hou

    s; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Intoxic

    ted d

    iving;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Distcted d

    iving; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">T

    uck inspections; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    nd the size

    nd

    eight.  n><

    li>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Most comp

nies

o

k

ith insu

nce

gencies,

ho mo

e often th

n not

ill t

y to dispute li

bility bec

use they do not

nt to p

y the pe

son

l inju

y costs c

used by negligence. <

sp

n>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">This is

hy it is impo

t

nt to h

ve <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

tx/t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

/”>expe

ienced inju

y

tto

neys >

ep

esenting those inju

ed — to ensu

e li

bility is

ssigned

pp

op

i

tely

nd d

m

ges

e p

id expediently.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

n><

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

fou

-ex

mples-t

uck-d

ive

-negligence-c

n-c

use-se

ious-

ccidents

“> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>t

uck d

ive

c

n displ

y negligence<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> by:<

sp

n>
  • eight: 400;”>B

    e

    king the l

    ; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Distcted d

    iving; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">D

    iving

    hile intoxic

    ted (D

    I);<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Cutting cu

    ves too sh

    ply; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">F

    tigue; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    b

    upt l

    ne ch

    nges;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">F

    iling to

    ssess

    o

    d

    nd

    e

    the

    conditions;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    nd disobeying the st

    te

    nd fede

    l moto

    c

    ie

    egul

    tions.<

    sp

    n><

    li>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

cco

ding to the n><

h

ef="https:

/

.

me

ic

nb

.o

g

g

oups

public_educ

tionesou

ces/l

_issues_fo

_consume

s/inju

y_typic

l/”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

me

ic

n B

ssoci

tion<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">, d

ive

s e held to

e

son

ble c

e st

ndds

t

ny time they e on the

o

d; the s

me goes fo

t

uck d

ive

s. If t

ucke

s displ

yed negligence, they could h

ve viol

ted the

pplic

ble st

nd

d of c

e

hich c

n only be p

oven

hen

leg

l c

se is filed. <

sp

n>

n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Vicious Li

bility in Othe

uto

ccidents<

sp

n><

h2>
n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Vic

ious li

bility depends on

hethe

the

e’s

sep

te p

ty

esponsible fo

the

ctions of

n individu

l. Employe

s, p

ents,

nd membe

s of

conspicy f

ce vic

ious li

bility.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">The<

sp

n><

h

ef="https:

/

.justice.gov

jm/c

imin

l-

esou

ce-m

nu

l-2482-pinke

ton-vs-

iding-

nd-

betting”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Pinke

ton

ule n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> s c

e

ted in 1946. T

o b

othe

s,

lte

nd D

niel,

e

e chged

ith viol

tions of t

x f

ud. They

llegedly committed conspicy

nd

ju

y found both guilty, yet the

e s no evidence of D

niel’s di

ect involvement. The Sup

eme Cou

t

uled th

t bec

use he h

d kno

ledge of the c

ime

nd did not

ithd

f

om the conspicy, D

niel

s

esponsible — o

vic

iously li

ble. <

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Simil to

iding

nd

betting, the Pinke

ton

ule cle

ly st

tes

conspi

cy must be p

esent

hile “

iding

nd

betting" is

b

o

d te

m th

t includes

nyone

ho kno

s of

c

imin

l

ct. <

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">In

diffe

ent ex

mple f

om 2016, <

sp

n><

h

ef="https:

/

.insuncejou

n

l.com

ne

sest

2016/05/05/407633.htm”> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>t

o

omen filed cl

ims

g

inst Ube

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">,

lleging the d

ive

s sexu

lly

ss

ulted them

hile using the

ide-shing

pp.

S

n F

ncisco judge

uled th

t Ube

s

esponsible fo

thei

d

ive

s, even though Ube

cl

ssifies them

s contcto

s.

hile it m

y be luc

tive to t

e

t d

ive

s

s contcto

s, the pl

intiffs gued th

t Ube

uses the business model to “dist

nce itself f

om li

bility,”

nd

llo

s fo “

illful blindness” in hi

ing d

ive

s. <

sp

n> <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

tex

s-

ec

e

tion

l-vehicle-

ccident-l

ye

“> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

ec

e

tion

l vehicle (

V)

ccidents n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> e

nothe

ex

mple

he

e vic

ious li

bility m

y

pply. Tex

s l

equi

es

V d

ive

s to o

n

cl

ss

o

Cl

ss B license, but this is not the c

se in eve

y st

te. M

ny d

ive

s f

om out-of-st

te e not qu

lified to d

ive ove

sized vehicles

nd c

n c

use seve

e

ccidents. If

n unqu

lified d

ive

boo

ed

n

V, then the o

ne

s of the

V could be held li

ble if the d

ivee

e to c

use

n

ccident. <

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

V

ccidents include:<

sp

n>
  • eight: 400;”>

    ollove

    s; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    e

    -end

    ccidents;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Blo

    outs; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Sides

    ipe

    ccidents;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    nd imp

    ope

    ly secu

    ed equipment. <

    sp

    n><

    li>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

lthough

Vs c

n vy in size

nd

eight, m

ny

e comp

ble in size to 18-

heele

s,

nd they c

n c

use just

s much d

m

ge. <

sp

n>

n style=”font-

eight: 400;">D

m

ges fohich the Vicious Pty Is Li

ble n><

h2>
n style="font-

eight: 400;”>P

ties li

ble c

n be left to t

ke ce of monety d

m

ges. This includes:<

sp

n>
  • eight: 400;”>Medic

    l bills;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Lost ges;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">P

    in

    nd suffe

    ing; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Funel costs;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    nd othe

    d

    m

    ges th

    t

    esulted in the csh. <

    sp

    n><

    li>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Vic

ious li

bility c

n pl

y

big

ole in t

ucking

ccidents

nd othe

uto

ccidents. Bec

use so m

ny pties c

n be held li

ble in

t

ucking

ccident, it’s impo

t

nt to hi

e leg

l

id

ith

esou

ces to help dete

mine

ho is li

ble. <

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Need help choosing

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

choose-best-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>t

uck

ccident l

ye

<>? Cont

ct the expe

ienced leg

l te

m of Ste

t J. Guss to h

ndle you

c

se —

v

il

ble 24 hou

s, seven d

ys

eek.

How Can We HELP Get a FREE Virtual Consultation
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

Client testimonials "Mr. Guss & his team significantly exceeded my expectations and the net settlement I received was more than triple... - Norman B. View All Testimonials
Schedule a free virtual visit 866-552-1808 Or Send us a message today >

Read More

Handling Catastrophic Injury Claims for 20+ Years
Car Accident Attorneys Houston 19 Jan

  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

. to schedule f ee consulttion. Don’t del y! Youights e too impot nt. Signs of n Intoxic ted...

How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

He e’s scen io e see ll too often in ou line of o k: pe son lks y...

Get Legal Help Now Contact Our Attorneys To LEarn How We Can Help You Achieve The Justice You Deserve * Required Field
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.