magine you work for a company that gives you a car to use for your job. You enjoy driving the company car, but you get into a crash one day. What happens next? Who pays for the damage and the injuries? The answer is not simple. 

It depends on many things, like who caused the crash, what you did when it happened, and what kind of insurance you and your employer have. You need a competent Nevada personal injury lawyer to help you in this situation. They can explain your rights and options and fight for you.

Employer Liability for Third-Party Injuries in Company Car Accidents

Yes, an employer is typically liable for any personal injuries to third parties resulting from an accident involving their company car. This includes pedestrians, bicyclists, other drivers, passengers in the company car, and other vehicles involved. This liability arises because, in legal terms, the employer’s insurance is responsible for covering damages caused by their employees while operating company vehicles.

Employer Responsibility for Employee Injuries in Work-Related Accidents

When an employee is injured while driving a company car, the employer is often responsible, even if the employee is at fault. This situation is analogous to other areas of liability law. For instance, if you had issues with plumbing in a newly built house, you wouldn’t just sue the individual plumbers; you’d hold the construction company accountable. Similarly, the liability typically extends to the employer in a car accident.

Comprehensive Liability: Covering Personal Injury and Property Damage

Employers are generally responsible for covering both personal injury and property damage caused by their employees in company car accidents, provided the employee was performing work-related duties. This responsibility stems from the principle that an employer must bear the risks associated with providing a vehicle for business use.

Key Factors Influencing Liability and Compensation

Employers may be held liable for their workers’ improper behavior. As a result, if an employee is injured or damages the company’s vehicle, the employer may be liable for the injuries and losses. However, as with many injury cases, the answer is dependent on the specifics.

Working or Not Working
Typically, an employer will only be required to pay for activities taken while an employee is on the job. Their acts must also be part of their job responsibilities. In this situation, the employee must have been working at the time of the crash and doing anything related to their job. If the accident occurred when the employee was doing something personal or

Insurance
Insurance is commonly the initial source of funds after a car accident. Whose insurance is it? It is determined by the state and who is at blame. Some jurisdictions, such as Florida, have “no-fault” laws, which require consumers to receive compensation from their own insurance regardless of who caused the accident. Other states have fault-based policies, which require the party at fault or their insurance to pay for the costs and damages.

Fault
Fault is also important for another reason. Only those who caused or assisted in causing the crash must pay. The company is not accountable if the employee did not contribute to the crash. If the employee did something that contributed to the crash, the outcome is determined by the laws of the state where the crash occurred. Generally, the more culpable a party is, the more they must pay. The greater an employee’s contribution to a collision, the more the employee and their employer must pay.

Workers Compensation
What if the employer carries workers’ comp insurance? That’s great news for the injured worker. Workers’ compensation is a sort of insurance that compensates employees who are injured or become ill because of their job. Employers must get this insurance in many places to protect themselves and their employees from lawsuits.

However, workers’ compensation does not cover everything. Workers’ compensation has limited benefits and solely covers workers; it does not compensate other people injured in the crash. Those individuals may sue both the worker and the employer for further compensation. 

Legal Claims for Vehicle Liability: What Employers Need to Know

If one of your employees causes a crash while driving a corporate automobile and someone is injured. As a result, the lawyer representing that person will most likely use one or more of the following reasons to make you pay:

• You are accountable for what your employee does while at work.
• You hired or retained an employee who was unfit to drive.
• You allowed an employee to drive a corporate automobile when you knew or should have known they couldn’t drive safely.
• You didn’t take good care of the company car, making it unsafe to drive.

Contact Nevada’s Car Accident Attorney for a Free Consultation.

If you were in an accident while driving your company’s car and incurred serious injuries, contact a Nevada car accident attorney at Lach Injury Law for a free consultation. 

Our Nevada experts can assist you in navigating the complicated legal concerns that can arise when you are in an accident in a work vehicle. Make an appointment with us today.