Cell Phones in Cars—Employees Crash, Company Burns
The vehicle Walker rear-ended landed on the driver's side and slid down the road. As the car slid along, the arm of the vehicle's driver was caught between the door and the pavement.
After a lengthy hospitalization and a series of medical complications, doctors had to amputate the accident victim's arm. The victim, a widowed mother of four, sued Walker and Walker's company, citing a state distracted driving law and claiming that the use of a cell phone while driving was unreasonably hazardous and therefore against the law. The victim asked for millions of dollars in actual and punitive damages.
The Outcome
This case was settled before it went to trial, with the employer agreeing to pay the accident victim $5.2 million.
Several other cases involving employer liability for accidents caused by employees using cell phones have also been settled for millions of dollars. These include:
• The family of an accident victim sued for wrongful death, and the court found the employer liable for $20 million. The employer eventually settled the case for $16 million.
• An Arkansas jury found a lumber company liable after one of its employees struck another car, gravely injuring the passenger. The case ended up being settled for $16 million.
• In a highly publicized incident, an attorney discussing business on her cell phone struck and killed a 15-year-old girl. Her firm settled for an undisclosed amount, and the attorney was charged with a felony and ordered to pay $2 million herself.
When Do You Have Liability?
All of these cases have been based on the principle that if an employer supplies a cell phone to an employee, even if the employee is making a personal call—or if the employee uses his or her own cell phone for business—the employer can be held liable for damages if the employee injures someone in a road accident while using the phone.
Is your cell-phone policy up to date? Do you even have one? The fact of the matter is that you simply can't afford to ignore this problem if any of your employees drive on the job and might use a cell phone while driving. You need to have a cell phone policy, and you need to make sure your employees know it and understand why they need to follow the rules.
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