The California Supreme Court ruled that an employer will be liable for injuries sustained by individuals due to the negligent driving of one of its employees, stating the following:
A person injured by someone driving a car in the course of employment may sue not only the driver but that driver’s employer. The employer can be sued on two legal theories based on tort principles: respondeat superior and negligent entrustment.
Respondeat superior, a form of vicarious liability, makes an employer liable, irrespective of fault, for negligent driving by its employee in the scope of employment. The theory of negligent entrustment makes an employer liable for its own negligence in choosing an employee to drive a vehicle.
Write a 700 written in the third-person voice, that addresses the following:
Explore types of principal-agent relationships and determine what type of relationship exists in this case between the driver, Jose Carcamo, and the company, Sugar Transport of the Northwest, LLC. What course of action do you recommend with respect to the lawsuit and Carcamo’s employment? Does Sugar Transport’s Human Resources department have any responsibility for their role in hiring Carcamo? If so, what other employment law issues do you find legally problematic concerning the hiring of Carcamo? Identify them and explain the legal issues and laws that were violated.
