Negligent Re-Hire of Impaired and Distracted driver

Our client was on her way into work when a company-owned vehicle driving in the opposite direction drifted off the road and crashed into the guardrail, causing a front wheel and tire to shear off and roll into oncoming traffic. A pile-up was caused and our client was injured. Initially, the company denied any liability, because their driver employee claimed an unknown vehicle had forced him off the road and then left the scene, despite scant evidence of any such vehicle. A lawsuit was filed, and our subsequent extensive discovery made a deep dive into post-crash DOT drug tests, criminal records, employment records, and cellphone records. Drug tests showed that the defendant driver had tested positive for methamphetamine following the wreck. Cell phone records showed that the driver had slept very little the night before the wreck and was apparently texting or emailing his supervisor on his phone at the time of the wreck.  Arrest records obtained showed the driver had a long prior history of drug offenses and arrests. Employment records obtained showed that the driver had previously worked for the same company in the past but had recently been re-hired, despite evidence that higher-ups in the company knew about his past drug problems and had directed his re-hire contrary to company policy. Because of all of these issues, the case settled for a substantial sum in one of the most conservative counties in the state.