In just one ye
,
meic
n compnies p
id out <h
ef="https:/
.cdc.govniosh/moto
vehiclencmvs/pdfs/CMVSInfog
phic.pdf” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”noopene
nofollo“>$25 billion
s esult ofo
k-el
ted cccidents.
> Settlementmounts
nged
nyhe
e fom $65,000 (fo
injuies) to $650,000 (fo
ft
lities.)he
e does this money come fom? In these
ccidents, injued victims
nd theif
miliese
e compensted by the comp
nies’ commeci
l vehicle insunce policies.o
kplce vehicle
ccidents e moe common th
n you think.s c
ccidenttto
neys,e f
equentlyssist victims of FedEx t
uckccidents
nd UPS tuck
ccidents. Buthethe
they’e mino
om
jo,
ecks involving comp
ny vehicles e complicted,
nd they cn
dd moe st
ess to thel
edy-confusing p
ocess of filingpe
sonl inju
y clim
ftenuto
ccident. Ino
k-el
ted cccidents,
ho isesponsible? Is
n employeli
ble fon employee's cccident? It
ll depends on the cicumst
nces. Beloedd
ess some common sceniosnd insu
nce options.
T
ble of Contents
-
- <
hef=”#to-do”>
ht to Do
fte Cshith
Compny Vehicle
><li>
- <
hef=”#
hen">hen Is
n EmployeLi
ble fo Compny C
ccident?<><li>
- <
hef=”#comme
cil”>Comme
cil
utoccident D
mges
><li>
- <
hef=”#f
q">Employee Cccident F
Q<><li>
- <
hef=”#hi
e">hy Hi
eC
ccident Lye?
><li>
- <
Tex s
o
kplce Inju
y Ls<h2>
Tex
o
kplce inju
y ls opete undet
o systems:o
kes’ compens
tionnd non-subsc
ibe.
If you
employec
ieso
kes’ compens
tion insunce, itill p
y foyou
on-the-job injuies, no m
tteho
theccident h
ppened. Once they hve opted into
oke
s’ comp, employees do not hve the
ight to sue theiemploye
fook inju
ies. On the otheh
nd,“non-subsc
ibe”
efes to
n employeho does not subscibe to the
oke
s’ compenstion system. They h
ve the potentil to be sued by thei
injued employees.
h
t’s The Diffe
ence Beteen
oke
s’ Compnd Li
bility Insunce?<h2>
hen deling
ith compny c
ccidents, diffeent types of insu
nce m
y come into ply. He
e’sn ove
vie:
oke
s’ compenstion cove
s employeesho
e inju
edt
ok. This cove
ge includes medic
l bills fom inju
ies sustined in
ok-
elted c
ccidents,s
ells some o
ll of the
ges victims miss out on
hile heling. Note: If
n employee s hut
hile diving thei
peson
l vehicle fook-
elted pu
poses, they my still be eligible fo
o
ke’s compens
tion. Libility insu
nce p
ys fod
mges sust
ined by thid p
ties. (
“thid p
ty” is
nyoneho is un
ffilited
ith the compny, such
spedest
in o
dive
stuck by
compny vehicle.) In most
ok-
elted c
ccidents, the employe’s li
bility insunce covege potects employees f
om hving to p
y the injued victims pe
sonlly. Li
bility insunce coves medic
l bills, lost ges,nd p
innd suffe
ing. Itlso cove
sn employee’s leg
l fees if they e sued by the thid-p
ty cl
imnts.
Gene
l li
bility policies py fo
dm
ges fom
viety of situtions, such
s slips, flls,
nd otheccidents tht occu
on compny p
opety.
Comme
cil vehicle policies
e comp
nyuto insu
nce policies. These policies
ok simil
ly to you
on pe
sonl c
insu
nce, but they tend to h
ve much highecove
ge limits!
If you d
ive fook
nd youemploye
does not povide
dequte cove
ge vi
thebove policies, p
otect youself! Did you kno
youpe
sonl c
insu
nce c
iem
y beble to deny you
ccident cl
im if youe
e using youpe
sonl vehicle fo
o
k? You cn
void this by investing inddition
l insunce covege clled
“ide
.” ideis
ndd-on to you
c insunce policy tht cove
sccidents th
t hppen
hile you’e using you
vehicle fobusiness pu
poses.hile you
tesill go up, you
employem
y beilling to
eimbuse you fo
the cost of this covege.s
ithll insu
nce policies
nd theifine p
int, exceptionsnd conditions
ill stillpply.
hetheyou’
en employee o
thi
d-pty victim, the insunce compny
ill ty eve
y tick in the book to
void pying you fo
youexpenses.
<h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comse
vicesc
–
ccident-tto
ney-houston“>c
ccident lye> c
n p
otect youightsnd secu
e the mximum possible settlement fo
you.<
id=”to-do”>
>h
t to Dofte
C
sh
ithComp
ny Vehicle<h2>
Eve
ccident is diffe
ent, but thefte
mth of
compny c
c
sh c
n be especilly t
icky.fte
eck
ithcomme
cil vehicle, follo
these steps fobest
esults:- -level=”1″>
ong>C ll fo
help<st
ong>. Inddition to
eceiving medicl c
e, you’ll
nt to c
ll 911 to summon police to the scene.police
ccidentepo
t cn be c
ucil evidence in
cccident c
se!<li>
- i -level="1">
ong>T ke photos ong>. Tnd collect info
ke plenty of photos of the
ccident scenend the d
mged vehicles. Collect identifying info
mtion including the d
ive’s n
me, the nme of the comp
ny theyo
k fo, thei
employee ID numbe, license pl
te numbe,
nd poof of insu
nce.
- i -level="1">
ong>Fill out n ong>. Inccident
epot
ddition to getting
policeepo
t, you shouldlso ensu
en
ccidentepo
t is filled out by the compny
ho ons the comme
cil vehicle. You o
youcomp
ny c csh lyec
n obtin
copy of thisepo
t.<li>
- i -level="1">
ong>Dete mine f ong>.ult
fte
ny
ccident, the most impot
nt step — beyond te
tingny inju
ies, of couse — is dete
miningho c
used theccident. Be
e: the
e cn be multiple
t-fult p
ties. You
cccident l
ye
cn help you dete
mine fult by collecting evidence.
- i -level="1">
ong>Figu e out ong>. Once fho
ill py
ult is dete
mined, you cn figu
e outhich insu
nce policies c
n help covethe victims’ expenses. See the next section fo
moe det
ils!<li>
- i -level="1">
o
k-
elted
utoccident Scen
ios
Ho
doesn on-the-job c
ccidento
k? Some unique legl issues m
y ise. Let’s figue out
ho isesponsible in these th
ee hypotheticl scen
ios:
→ I
s hit by someone
ho s diving
compny vehicle.
T
uckes m
y cuse
tgic <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comse
viceshouston-t
uck-ccident-l
ye
“>t
uckccident
>hile d
iving fook. You
lso commonly she the steets
ith txi c
bs, buses, cement mixes,
ndv
iety of othe
commeci
l vehicles.h
t hppens if one of these vehicles hits you?
n employe’s
esponsibilities include pying fo
injuies
nd pope
ty dm
ge cused by
ny of theiemployees
hile opeting compny vehicles. If you
e involved in
cccident
ithcomme
cil vehicle, you c
n filecl
img
inst the compny
ho ons the vehicle.
Context is key he
e.n employe
isesponsible fo
n employee’s
ccident incomp
ny vehicle duing
ok hou
s. Hoeve
,n employe
is notesponsible fo
n
ccident tht h
ppens duing
commute, lunch, ope
sonl e
nd. Ifn employee hits you
hile diving thei
on pe
sonl c
on the clock, you
ill fist tu
n to tht employee’s o
n peson
l c insunce. If the employee does not hve
dequte cove
ge to compens
te you, you cn then tu
n to theivic
iously li
ble employefo
compenstion fo
youinju
iesnd p
opety d
mge.
If you’
e copingith the
ftem
th ofcomme
cil vehicle
ccident, you’e not
lone.c
ccidenttto
ney is hee to guide you th
ough the pocess, identify
ll possible lines of insunce covege,nd help you m
ximize yousettlement
d. To find out mo
ebout
ht h
ppens ino
k-el
ted cccidents, get
fee consult
tion fom ou
tem
ight no.
→ I
s in
nccident
hile diving
commeci
l vehicle fook. cco
ding to Tex
s stte l
,
n employec
n be held lible fo
injuies
esulting fom
nccident involving
n on-duty employee. Hoeve
, thee
e limits to this cove
ge.
Comp
ny insunceill not cove
you if:- -level=”1″>you
e
e unde
the influence of dugs o
lcohol
- i
-level="1">you committed
c
ime duing the t
ip (yes, even speeding counts!)<li>
- i
-level="1">you
e
eunning pe
sonl e
nds (knon
s“f
olic” in legl j
gon)
- i
-level="1">you
e
en independent cont
cto
using youo
n peson
l vehicle (fofood delive
y dive
s, outside sles, c
egive
sin-home nu
ses, etc)<li>
In these c
ses, youemploye
my be exempt f
om libility.
M
ny employes h
vecomp
ny vehicleccident policy. The specifics of this policy
ill vy fom business to business. Fo
exmple, in Ube
nd Lyft
ccidents, theidesh
e
pps hve thei
on policies
nd insunce covege. If you lese
compny-o
ned vehicle — liket
xi cb — you
contctill specify ex
ctlyh
t you cn be held li
ble fohile opeting the vehicle. Fomo
e help untngling you
employe’s comp
ny vehicleccident policy, consult
compny c
c
sh l
ye
. If youemploye
ons the c
you’
e diving, the comp
ny insues th
t vehicle. Theefo
e, the compny’s insu
nce
ill py the othe
victims if you e foundt-f
ult fonccident.
dditionlly, if you c
usec
ccidenthile d
ivingcomp
ny vehiclend you
employeh
so
kes’ comp cove
ge, you’ll still
eceive benefits, becuse f
ult does notffect
oke
s’ comp. Youemploye
’s insunceill
lso compenste the thi
d-pty clim
ntsnd p
otect you fom being sued by them.
Ho
eve, if you
on negligence c
usedn
ccident incomme
cil vehicle
nd youemploye
does not hve
oke
s’ comp covege, you’e out of luck. You
ill hve to p
y foyou
on expenses.
If
eckless d
ivehit you
hile youe
e diving
compny vehicle, you c
n filepe
sonl inju
y clim
ginst them. Thei
uto li
bility insunce should py fo
youd
mges.
ll Texs d
ives
e
equied to c
y libility insu
nce.
You m
y beble to sue the othe
dive
fod
mges in
ddition toeceiving
oke
s’ comp benefits though you
compny. Ho
eve,
oke
s’ comp my t
y to tke some o
ll of the money you
eceive fom the othe
dive
! Foex
mple, if youeceive $10,000 in
oke
s’ comp benefitsnd l
teeceive$15,000 settlement f
om thet-f
ult dive
’s insunce, youemploye
cn pu
sue $10,000 of tht settlement
s pyb
ck.comp
ny c csh lyec
n help you negotite
iselynd hold on to
s much moneys possible.
In the inte
est of potecting thei
finnces, employe
s my t
y to dodge the blme o
ccuse thei
employee ofcting i
esponsible o
“outside the scope of employment.” Mny comp
niesill
equie d
ug testing fod
ives
ecently involved inccidents. They m
ylso investig
te youd
ivingeco
d fo histoy of p
eviousccidents.
If you’ve been in
o
k-el
ted cccident, you m
y be feeling defeted
nd ovehelmeds you de
lith multiple stubbo
n insunce compnies. Help is
vil
ble. Meetith
cccident
ttoney – f
ee vitu
l cse ev
lutions
e
vil
ble NO!
→ I
s in
nccident
hile diving my pe
sonl vehicle fo
o
k.<h3>
Unfo
tely, employe
libility does not include cove
ge fo
ny p
opety d
mge to
n employee’s peson
l vehicle. Youill h
ve to use youo
n c insunce covege in this cse,
sell
s filecl
imith the othe
dive
’s insunce cie
. If you et-f
ultnd the othe
dive
’s dm
ges exceed the limits of youli
bility insunce covege, the victim cn then go
fteyou
employe.
Note: If
n employee s hut
hile diving thei
peson
l vehicle fook-
elted pu
poses, they my still be eligible fo
o
ke’s compens
tion benefits. If you’ve been involved inn
ccidenthile d
iving youpe
sonl vehicle fo
o
k,c
ccident lyec
n help.<
id=”
hen"><>hen Is
n EmployeLi
ble fo Compny C
ccident?<h2>
Comp
om st
te to stte. So
hen e employes li
ble in cccidents involving thei
employees?n employe
my be li
ble fo commeci
l vehicleccident if they:
- i
-level="1">F
iled to m
intin thei
fleet ofo
k vehicles<li>
- i
-level="1">Did not p
ovide
dequte t
ining
- i
-level="1">Did not
equi
e employees to get pope
ly licensed oce
tified<li>
lly, if
n employep
essued thei
employee to be
kl
o
violte FMCS
egul
tions, the employec
n be heldccount
ble. Foex
mple, sy you
e
tuck d
ivend youemploye
ovelo
ded youschedule, viol
ting the “<h
ef="https:/
.fmcs.dot.gov/
egultions/title49/b/5/3/list?filte
=Hous+of+Se
vice" tget="_blnk”
el="noopenenofollo
">hous of se
vice<>”ules. If you become exh
usted by this schedule, fll
sleept the
heelnd c
usen
ccident, youemploye
could be lible.
Employe
s elso
esponsible fom
king sue thei
compny vehicles
e s
fe to dive. This me
ns pefo
mingoutine m
intennce
nd sfety inspections on thei
fleet. If youe
e diving
compny c
nd hd
nccident due to
mechnic
l filu
e, youemploye
my be li
ble.ith p
opet
ining, fleet m
intennce,
nd cution, most comme
cil vehicle c
shes
e p
eventble.
But
ht
bouthen negligent employees c
use cccidents?
e thei
employes
esponsible then? Tons
ethis question,
e’ll tke
lookt vic
ious li
bility.h
t is Vicious Libility?
Vic
ious li
bility islso kno
ns “
espondet supe
io,”
hich is Ltin fo
"let the mste
ns
e.”
s you might’ve guessed, vicious libility me
nsn employe
is lible fo
thections of thei
employees. Undevic
ious li
bility,n employe
cn be found
t fult fo
ny employee’s negligent
ctions duing
ok o
hile the employee is d
iving fook-
elted pu
poses.victim c
n suen employe
fony dm
gen employee c
useshile on the clock, even if the
ccident hppens outside of the comp
ny’s pemises. Fo
exmple, if
tuck d
ivehit you, you
ould sue the tucking comp
ny, not the dive
. Tip: Get the most out of youcomme
cil
ccident lsuit. Suingn employe
islmost
lys moe successful th
n suingn employee.
< id="comme
ci
l"><>Commeci
luto
ccident Dm
ges<h2>
D
ges f
om ok-
elted
ccident clim include:
Medic l expenses.<
h3>
hene meet
ith cccident victims, thei
numbeone conce
n is pying fo
theimedic
l bills.c
ccident lyec
n help! Hoeve
, undeTex
so
kes’ compens
tion l, youemploye
ill be
ble to chooseho you c
n see fom
specific neto
k ofo
kes’ comp docto
s.P
in
nd suffeing. n
ccident c
n be tumtic, especi
lly if it left youith
disbility o
disfiguement.
e undest
nd you’e coping
ith significnt ment
lnguish,
nde believe you dese
ve compenstion fo
it. Unfotun
tely,o
kes’ comp does not cove
pin
nd suffeing, but it c
n be included in youl
suit
ginst
non-subscibe
.ongful de
th
nd bui
l expenses.<h3>
These d
ges
e p
id tovictim’s f
mily in the event of<
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comse
viceshouston-
ongful-de
th-tto
ney“>f
tl
okpl
ceccident
>.Lost income.<
h3>
If you’
t in
o
k-el
teduto
ccident, you’ll pob
bly need to tke some time off to
ecove. If you h
ve to miss moe th
n seven dys of
ok, Tex
so
kes’ compens
tion income benefitsill p
ti
lly covethese lost
ges.
Note: the <
hef=”https://
.tdi.texs.gov/ne
s2018/d
c09212018.html" tget="_blnk”
el="noopenenofollo
">Texs st
teeekly
vege ge<> limits homuch you c
neceive f
omC income benefits. Cu
ently, the m
ximumeekly benefit
tes fo
o
kes’ compens
tion income benefits is $938.<
id=”f
q"><>Employee Cccident F
Q<h2>
In
o
k-el
ted cccident,
ill my employep
y my medicl bills? o
ke
s’ compenstion should help p
y foyou
medicl bills,
egdless ofho
s
t fult. If you
ee hu
thile d
ivingcomp
ny cnd you
o
kes’ compens
tion clim
s denied, cont
ctcomp
ny c csh lyeSP.
I
s in
nccident
hile going too
k. Does this counts
o
k-el
tedccident? ccidents th
t h
ppenhile commuting o
diving bet
een job sites en’tl
ys leg
lly consideed “
ctingithin the scope of employment.” This me
ns commuting injuies
e gene
lly not included unde
the umbell
ofo
k-el
tedccidents.
My c
s hit in my
okpl
ce’s pking lot.h
t cn I do?
If you
c s dm
ged in okpl
ce c pk, lot, og
ge, youemploye
is not lible. Inste
d, you must pusue the insu
nce of the individu
lho hit you.
h
t h
ppens ifn employee hits someone du
ingbusiness t
ip?<h3>
If
uses
eckhile on
business tip, the employe
cn be held
esponsible fod
mges,
lthough it might depend onhethe
the employee sctu
llyo
king onot
t the time of the csh.h
t isn employe
’sesponsibility fo
employee <h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comse
viceshouston-d
unk-diving-dui-o
-di-
ccident-tto
ney“>d
unk diving
>ccidents?
If
n employee s diving d
unknd c
usedn
ccident, theiemploye
’s insunce must compenste
ny thid-p
ty victims. The employe
’s insunceill not help the d
unk dive
py fo
ny of thei
dm
ges.<
id=”hi
e"><>hy Hi
eC
ccident Lye?
tt -desc ption- chment-70081″ style=” ss=” ption ight”> ge-70081″ s /c inju uplo 2020/02/Ste tto lt=”Ste tto idth=”210″ height=”242″ s /c inju uplo 2020/02/Ste tto , https://c inju uplo 2020/02/Ste tto ” sizes=”(m idth: 210px) 100v > ption- chment-70081″ cl p-c tto h /c inju ou m/ste “>Ste figc figu nies often h ci ccident l ye side, so e t in ccident comme l vehicle, ccident ney c ccident mine f li>ss=”
nd inte
vieitnesses<li>
in copies of police
epots,
ccidentepo
ts,nd comp
ny insunce policies<li>
lcul
te the vlue of you
losses<li>
n insu
nce cl
im ol
suit
te
ith insunce compnies to secu
e youm
ximum settlementmount
Don’t
ste
ny moe time t
ying to comb though the fine p
intlone
nd une. Inddition to ou
ntion
lly-ecognized dedic
tion to peson
l injuy victims, ou
fim h
s extensive expeience
itho
kes’ comp c
ses.n
utoccident l
ye
cn set you on the
ight pth
nd potect you
ights eve
y step of the y. Get you<
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comcont
ct-us“>f
ee cse ev
lution
> no!