Can an Employer Be Liable for an Employee’s Car Accident?

All car accidents are traumatic, especially when they cause painful injuries or leave you facing disability and an uncertain future. Often, the exacting legal process to recover compensation compounds the distress under fault-based accident laws such as those in Georgia, especially when only the minimum required insurance policy limits are available for your compensation. But what if the driver who caused your car accident was driving during the scope of their work duties? Can you file a lawsuit against their employer?

When Is an Employer Responsible for a Car Accident In Georgia?

Only under specific circumstances can an employer be held legally liable for a car accident in Atlanta, Georgia. For instance, you cannot file a lawsuit against your employer if you were injured in an accident while driving to work. If you were injured in a car accident while doing your job, your employer is protected from a lawsuit by their workers’ compensation insurance. However, if you were injured by an accident caused by another driver who was on the road for a work-related task, you may be able to file a workplace injury lawsuit against their employer, potentially expanding the amount of compensation available to you. An employer may be held liable for injuries caused by their employee, including car accident injuries.

Employer Liability for a Georgia Car Accident

Georgia Code § 51-2-2 (2024) holds specific entities responsible for the actions of related parties, including an employer’s responsibility for their employee’s negligence or wrongdoing. Under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior, an employee and their employer may share liability for an accident that occurs while the employee is performing their job duties. You cannot sue an employer if their employee caused an accident on the way to work, but if the employee was delivering a pizza, driving to an AC maintenance call, driving a loaded commercial truck, or driving an armored car to transport cash to local ATMs, their employer may be held liable for the employee’s actions under the principle of respondeat superior, by demonstrating that the driver was driving in the “course and scope” of their job duties when the accident occurred.

Evidence Holding an Employer Liable for Their Employee’s Car Accident

In typical car accident cases in fault-based accident states like Georgia, proving the driver’s liability requires the injury victim to gather evidence showing that the driver owed a legal duty of reasonable care to the injury victim, they breached this duty of care through negligence, that the breach of duty caused injury to another motorist, and that the injury victim suffered damages from the accident. To hold a driver’s employer liable, the evidence must also show the following:

• The driver was acting within their job duties when they caused the accident
• They were at fault for the accident due to carelessness or recklessness, such as speeding, distracted driving, failing to yield the right of way, tailgating, or making an unsafe lane change
• They were driving a company vehicle or were acting under the direction of their employer

In some cases, the evidence may show the employer’s liability for negligent hiring or job-training processes.

Proving employer liability can quickly become complex, but a successful claim can substantially increase the total compensation available for damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. A Georgia car accident lawyer can evaluate the merits of your case and pursue all avenues of compensation available to you.