Employers Pay for Distracted Driving of Company Vehicles

CLEVELAND, OH, September 04, 2012 (Press-News.org) A recent large jury award should be a wake-up call for any Ohio companies that still don't tell their employees not to use cell-phones while driving for work. The jury decided that a woman injured in a collision with a Coca-Cola delivery truck was entitled to recover $14 million in compensation for actual losses and $10 million in punitive damages from Coca-Cola.

The driver of the delivery truck was talking on a phone at the time, claiming she was using a headset rather than a handheld phone. Company policy forbids handheld cell-phone use, but does allow drivers to use headsets. The driver stated that if she'd been aware that talking on the phone could be a distraction, she would not have done it.

Dangers of Cell-phone Use

Cleveland area motorists are at risk when others on the road are distracted by cell-phones. According to the National Safety Council, using a cell phone quadruples a driver's risk of being involved in an accident. The NSC estimates that about 1.2 million crashes a year involve drivers using cell-phones for conversations or texting. That amounts to about 25 percent of all accidents.

In many of these accidents, the distracted driver was behind the wheel of a company vehicle. For example, a cable company driver driving at more than 70 mph while using a cell phone rear-ended a stopped car, killing two occupants. In another accident, the driver of a company vehicle failed to slow down when cars ahead braked, and a woman died in the resulting crash.

Company Liability

Courts are increasingly finding the employers of drivers liable for injuries and deaths in cell phone-related accidents. Many employers now tell employees not to take phone calls while driving, even from customers or supervisors. Even if it is an inconvenience not to have constant contact with a company employee, the added risk of employer liability for an accident is not worth distracting a driver.

Unsurprisingly, juries are not sympathetic when they find out that a company did not institute or enforce policies prohibiting cell-phone use by its drivers. Public awareness of the danger of distracted driving has risen. A director at the NSC reported that respondents in a recent poll were more afraid of cell phone-using drivers than drunk drivers.

Anyone injured in an accident involving a company vehicle can sue for compensation from the employer. If the employee driving the vehicle was using a cell phone, there is a good chance of recovering significant damages from the employer.

For more than 40 years, at the Cleveland law firm of Seaman Garson LLC, we have provided experienced representation for individuals who have been injured and families who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. Our firm is one of the top 10 personal injury law firms in the state of Ohio.

Seaman Garson, L.L.C.
614 West Superior Avenue
16th Floor, Suite 1600
Rockefeller Building
Cleveland, OH 44113
Phone: 216-592-8741
Cleveland Law Office
www.garson.com