Recently an Albuquerque city employee was charged with sexual assault against a neighbor. According to the story, the city worker, while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, attempted to rape his neighbor. While this garbage employee is making headlines, this is certainly not the first time an employee has caused a New Mexico personal injury or New Mexico accident.
From a New Mexico personal injury lawyer’s perspective, this sexual assault story raises the issue or respondeat superior or vicarious liability. This is when somebody, such as an employer, can be held accountable for the conduct of someone else, such as an employee. Often times for such New Mexico injury and accident cases, the question comes does to whether the employee was working under the scope and corse of his or her employment, or whether it was forceable such a person such a incident could occur. For example, the new story on this incident suggests that the driver had to submit to regular drug tests. In the event he failed any such tests and nothing was done, then the City of Albuquerque could be responsible for allowing such an individual to remain on the streets.
In addition to helping hold employers responsible for sloppy employee management, hiring, training, and retention, New Mexico personal injury claims against an employer often allow the injury victim to recover substantially more than claims limited to the employee.