Q: Where I work I'm asked to drive trucks not maintained to legal standards. Legally would I be liable, or the business?
Specifically I'm asking in the case of being pulled over, or in the case of an accident due to the truck's maintenance issues, The issues mostly include non functional brake and reverse lights (especially on trailers). I do like my job, and wouldn't have many personal reservations about driving the trucks UNLESS it could put me in any legal jeopardy, since I don't feel they are actually dangerous, just possibly legally dubious. I have raised these concerns with my superiors, but to little avail.
A: A North Carolina attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for a week. I hope you do not experience an accident, but in the event of one, claimants would usually name owners and operators. In terms of equipment, investigators would generally scrutinize maintenance records if they were relevant, and use them together with statements from drivers and other evidence. There is no "one size fits all" answer to your question. Accidents are fact-intensive, and investigators, where commercial or NTSB, look at many things to determine the cause of accident, including operator-related factors, equipment-related factors, environment-related factors, and more. Good luck
A: Addendum - I addressed a few basic accident-related issues in my response five minutes ago. There are also employment law-related attributes to your question that the employment law attorneys here would be able to offer better insight on, such as doctrines like vicarious liability, where the employee's actions are generally covered by the employer's indemnity provisions, barring certain exceptions. Good luck
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