Vicarious Liability Explained by our NYC Personal Injury Lawyers for Company Liability in a Queens Auto Accident
A serious motor vehicle accident can result in significant personal injuries such as a traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI), amputation, broken bone, or other life-changing injuries. In some catastrophic types of motor vehicle accidents, an individual could be permanently disabled or wrongfully killed. This is particularly true of a Queens auto accident with a larger vehicle such as a truck, delivery van, or other company vehicle that causes serious injuries. Any type of injury could result in significant medical bills, lost wages, and extremely severe pain and suffering. Wrongful death cases also add the costs of a funeral or burial which could be exorbitant. When these devastating personal injuries are caused by the negligence of another, a victim or a family may be entitled to compensation for these damages. But usually the individual person who causes those damages such a truck driver or delivery van driver may not be able to afford to pay these high costs to a victim, however that individual’s company usually can.
This is why victims and their families want to bridge the gap between liability of the individual driver and the company to ensure they can recover compensation for their personal injuries and other damages. While this may seem daunting for victims and their families, our NYC personal injury lawyers at Cohen and Cohen Law Group, P.C. know that exactly how to do this to ensure that victims can recover money for their injuries, lost wages, and medical bills after a Queens auto accident. We have the experience, skill, and knowledge how to establish liability against both the driver and the company while boosting our client’s damages claim by working with your medical provider or hiring experts. Victims who have suffered any damages as a result of a negligence trucking accident, delivery crash, taxi accident, or other auto accident in any of the five boroughs or Long Island should call our bodily injury law firm for a FREE consultation to learn how we can help you today.
Why do You Want to Establish Liability Against a Company?
A common question asked by a personal injury client is why would they want to establish liability against a company. After all, a company is more likely to have a better lawyer that can defend them, right?
Not exactly.
In law, you look for “deep pockets.” Most people have heard of that before, but what you want to do by looking for deep pockets is to find the responsible entity who has the money to pay for a claim. Most times an individual truck driver, delivery van driver, or taxi driver is not the deep pocket that you are looking for. Sure, these types of careers can earn good salaries with benefits. But there really are no careers or professions that can pay out-of-pocket several hundred thousand dollars in a severe accident, or even a million dollars for very catastrophic brain injuries. That is just a simple fact of law, whether you are a truck driver or a neurosurgeon, no one has that type of money laying around to pay.
But most companies do. And not only do companies have that kind of capital, they also have insurance policies that are meant to protect that type of capital from lawsuits. These higher insurance policies mean that victims and their families may be able to recover more money for a claim through the carrier rather than dipping into the reserves of a company. That is almost guaranteed payment rather than having to go after a company individually.
How Do You Establish Liability Against a Company for an Employee’s Negligence?
Generally, the concept of holding a company liable for an employee’s negligence is from British common law, where our legal system is based off. The ancient concept of a master-servant relationship is still true today in terms of the common law, which is that a master (employer) is liable for the servant’s (employee’s) conduct within the scope of employment. This is known as an agency principle. It is also known as a type of vicarious liability, which means that the actions of one can be imputed to another. In an employer and employee relationship, it is more commonly known as respondeat superior.
Therefore, as long as the truck driver, delivery driver, taxi driver, or other individual was working within the scope of his or her employment, the company will likely be vicariously liable for the employee’s actions. This means that a victim who has suffered serious injuries or life-changing disability, or for a family who has lost a loved one, that they may be able to recover compensation against the company.
Ask Our NYC Personal Injury Lawyers for Help Establishing Company Liability in a Queens Car Accident
Whenever a victim or family has suffered serious personal injuries as a result in the actions of another person, business, or government entity, they should call our experienced NYC personal injury lawyers at Cohen and Cohen Law Group, P.C. for a FREE consultation. We accept cases on a contingency fee arrangement meaning that we only get paid a percentage of what we recover for you in a settlement or court award, and only after we recover it for you. Learn how we can help protect your rights during a FREE consultation by dialing 800-247-8164 for a FREE case evaluation or use our convenient and easy-to-use contact us box available here.