Do you think an employer could be liable if one of its
employees, while driving and using a cell phone, causes an accident
and injures another party?
Over the last several years, people who have been injured in
automobile crashes in which the at-fault driver was using a cell
phone have sued the driver's employer as well as the driver,
with some surprising results. Many attorneys for injured parties
will look to the employer for the "deep pockets," or
because the employer's liability insurance usually has a
greater dollar value than the employee's personal automobile
coverage. Consider the following:
- In December 2007, International Paper Company settled a
personal injury lawsuit for $5.2 million with an Atlanta woman who
lost an arm after being rear-ended by one of the company's
employees. The International Paper employee was driving a company
sedan and was on her company-issued cell phone at the time of the
accident. Even though the company had a policy in
