Q: Can employer be liable for damages to a parked employee's car in the parking lot caused by their abuse shelter resident?
Daughter works for an abuse shelter. Her car was backed into and damaged while parked in company parking lot as she was working on the clock. An abuse shelter resident reported hitting the car. Shelter resident says they just recently got driver license back, but has no auto insurance. Suggested they would pay for the damages; they left the scene before officer arrived. (There is a co-worker who witnessed the confession.) They returned to the shelter, very late, that same night but in a different vehicle. Employer was informed of incident. Abuse shelter has certain protections in place for their residents when it relates to giving out names and personal information. Daughter is concerned about information she gave to officer regarding the resident even though she was given the okay to have a police report done by her manager. She's only been employed with shelter for about 60 days; she hasn't met her 90 days yet. Can employer be liable? What recourses does daughter have?
A:
In that scenario, the company running the shelter would not be liable for the vehicle damage unless it was somehow foreseeable to the company staff that allowing the resident to drive in the parking lot would create a risk of damage - for example, if the resident had a bad traffic record that included prior accidents from careless driving, with the staff being aware of that, or if the resident was visibly in a physical condition that would make her unfit for driving.
If it so happens that there's no potential claim against the shelter, your daughter has the option of going through her own insurance, if she has coverage (which may or may not be worthwhile depending on the deductible and any potential increase in premium). Otherwise, an option would be to make a written, signed payment agreement with the resident (after getting a repair estimate). If necessary, suit may be brought in small claims court - but then collectibility might be a problem.
You also raise a concern about confidentiality regarding info about the resident, though you didn't ask any question about it. In any event, I cannot comment on that issue.
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