Liability of the Commercial Driver: Negligent Hiring Meets the Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine

If you get hurt in a car accident with a commercial vehicle in Florida, the owner of the vehicle might be responsible for your injuries. This is because of a law called the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. It says that if someone owns a dangerous tool, like a car, they can be held responsible if someone else using that tool causes harm. However, if the owner is just leasing the vehicle and doesn’t have control over it, they might not be held responsible. That’s the basic idea of how the law works. In simple terms, if someone lets someone else use their car and that person gets into an accident, the owner of the car is usually not responsible unless they had control over the car or were the one driving. The same goes for a company that owns a truck and the driver causes an accident while working. The company can be held responsible, but not for more than the driver’s actions. This means that a law about hiring responsible employees doesn’t really apply in these situations. The dangerous instrumentality doctrine and the theory of respondeat superior have historically depended on the owner of the vehicle. This means that the owner of a vehicle can be held responsible for any accidents or injuries caused by the vehicle, even if they were not directly involved.

The Florida Supreme Court has recognized that vicarious liability, which is when someone is held responsible for the actions of another person, is important for compensating victims of accidents. This is because the employer has control over the employee and the vehicle causing the injury.

The goal of holding the owner of the vehicle responsible is to ensure certainty, predictability, and uniformity in the legal system. This means that the owner must be held responsible for the actions of the driver unless the driver was acting outside of their job duties. This principle also prevents the owner from sending out drivers into traffic without any fear of being held accountable for their actions. If someone is hurt in a car accident caused by a commercial truck driver, they can’t sue both the driver and the company that hired the driver for the same damages. Even if there are issues with how the company hired the driver, they can only seek compensation from one party for the same injuries. This is important because it means that the focus is on finding the responsible party for the accident, not on getting money from multiple sources. In the Garcia v. Duffy case, the court said that employers don’t have to check with the police about an employee’s criminal record, and hiring someone with a record isn’t automatically negligent. The court also said that a claim for negligent hiring needs to show that the employee did something after being hired that would make the employer realize they were dangerous. Negligent hiring claims are often made to hold someone responsible for an accident and to bring up the employee’s past records in court. In Florida, past driving history cannot be used to prove fault in a car accident case, and evidence of a driver’s prior criminal history is also not allowed unless it’s directly related to the incident. Federal regulations also require all states to have uniform standards for commercial drivers, which means a driver with a valid commercial driver’s license in one state can drive commercially in any state. The motor carrier, like a trucking company, has a duty to make sure its drivers follow all regulations. In the field of commercial trucking, “qualification” is a really important term. It basically means that a person has the right training and experience to safely drive a commercial truck. The application process is really detailed and includes things like a driving record and employment history. The trucking company also has to keep a detailed file on each driver to show that they are qualified to drive. This file has to be kept for at least three years after the driver stops working for the company. If you want to apply for a job as a driver, you have to give a list of any traffic violations you’ve had in the past three years. This includes things like getting a ticket, pleading guilty in court, or not following the rules after being released from jail. Employers cannot access driving history reports from the Department of Motor Vehicles, except for specific information required under the law. If a person has been arrested but not convicted, an employer cannot consider it. Federal law controls the relationship between a driver, their employer, and the public. In a court case, it was determined that the relationship between a motor carrier and a driver is governed by federal law. The regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission say that motor carriers are responsible for the drivers of the leased equipment they use. This means that if the driver causes an accident, the carrier is the one who is liable. Even if the driver is working for someone else, as long as the carrier’s logo is on the truck, they are still responsible. This is important to understand when dealing with accidents involving commercial vehicles. These are legal cases and laws related to trucking and commercial vehicle regulations in Florida. They include information about driver license requirements, regulations for commercial motor vehicles, and laws governing liability in trucking accidents.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/liability-of-the-commercial-driver-negligent-hiring-meets-the-dangerous-instrumentality-doctrine/