I was on the clock at work when I was in a car accident while picking up dinner for my manager. Is my company liable for my accident?

Question: Hi, I was on the clock, working at Blockbuster, and I left the store to pick up dinner for a manager. I got in a car accident, totalled my car. Is Blockbuster liable at all for my accident? Thank-you, Robert

Answer: Hello. this is one of those may yes and maybe kind of problem. First, we hope you are well and have no injuries. If you were in a high impact accident don't assume that you are injury free if you don't hurt now. Clients should wait a period of time to decide if they are without injury. Was the accident your fault or someone else? Were you on the mission of getting lunch or going somewhere else for yourself? You should assume your employer is not liable and they start to gather facts to see if that general assumption is true. Do you know what your manager has said about the accident? Did he say he was responsibile. What is your relationship to the manager? If you are friends then Blockbuster may use that to show that it was not an official job task. Did you ask to use the company car or the manager's car to do the task. Do you trade off with the manager so sometimes the manager does personal tasks for you or you for the manager.

I hope you can see by all this that the situation is not black and white. You should explore all the option, possibilities and details of the fact pattern to decide if the situation is closer to one where you are directed to use a ladder in a stock room and fell or you voluntaried to help a friend and had bad luck. Unless you are liability free on the accident fact pattern, there really isn't much point in pursuing this. That situation is like bring your own ladder to the office, not asking anyone before you used it and then misusing the ladder. This is probably going to be a very difficult small claims case that you will have a hard time winning. Good luck.