Texas Supreme Court Holds Company Not Liable for Fatalities Caused by Fatigued Off-duty Employee: In a much anticipated ruling, the Supremes ruled today that an employer is not liable for automobile fatalities caused by an off duty employee, who had just finished up a particularly exhausting 12 hour night shift.
The principal issues presented by this case are (1) whether an employer has a duty to protect third parties from a fatigued employee en route home after a 12-hour shift and (2) whether the employer has a duty to train its employees about the dangers of fatigue. In this case Escoto sued the employer (Nabors) after four members of her family died in a car accident allegedly caused by Nabors’ employee on his way home after working five 12-hour graveyard shifts. Escoto alleged that Nabors was liable it had a duty to protect other people when its employee drove home after an exhausting shift and because the company failed to train its employees how to handle fatigue. The Willacy County trial court entered a judgment in Nabors’ favor after a jury verdict for Escoto, reasoning that Nabor did not owe a duty to Escoto. The Corpus Christi Court of Appeals reversed.
The Supreme Court today held that the employer had no duty to protect third parties from a fatigued off-duty employee and no duty to train employees about obvious dangers posed by fatigue. The court reasoned that the holding in Otis Engineering Corp. v Clark, 668 S.W.2d 307 (Tex. 1983), in which the company acted to send a drunk employee home, cannot be extended to this case where the company’s only act preceded the employee’s shift and incapacity and amounted only to establishing work conditions that may have caused or contributed to the accident. The employer merely established a shift schedule and allowed its employees to decide for themselves if they were too tired to drive following their shifts. This did not amount to foreseeable risk to motorists on the road. Because the risk associated with driving while fatigued is common knowledge and appears to have been appreciated by the employee who caused the accident, the employer owed no duty to train employees about those risks. Nabors Drilling, U.S.A. Inc. v. Francisca Escoto, et al (Tex, June 19, 2009).
♦ ♦ ♦
We will cover all the notable 2009 cases and new legislation at our full day, fully accredited 2009 Ultimate Claims Handling Seminar on October 16, 2009 at CityPlace Conference Center in Dallas, Texas. Save the date.