Who Is At Fault: Company Vehicle Accident

A company vehicle accident starts with the same question as any crash: who failed to take reasonable care. It then adds a second question, whether the company itself shares responsibility for its driver.

An employer can be held responsible for a crash its employee caused while doing their job, under a rule called vicarious liability.^[1]

See who is at fault for the general test, and making a road accident claim for how a claim runs.

The typical facts in these cases

Company vehicle crashes usually raise one extra question beyond ordinary fault.

• A delivery van or lorry causing a crash while on its route
• A sales or service vehicle driven between client visits
• A staff vehicle used for a personal errand outside working hours
• A vehicle leased or shared between more than one driver at the company

The key question in each is whether the driver was doing their job at the time.

How is fault, and employer liability, usually assessed?

An employer answers for a crash caused by staff acting in the course of their employment, a test the Federal Court has applied by looking at the connection between the driver’s wrongdoing and the nature of the job.^[1] A clear personal detour, unrelated to any work purpose, sits outside this.

Fault between the drivers themselves is still assessed the normal way, by comparing what a careful driver would have done.

What evidence decides a company vehicle case?

• A job docket, delivery note or work order for that day
• GPS or fleet tracking data showing the vehicle’s route
• The vehicle’s registration and ownership documents
• Dashcam footage, if the vehicle or another nearby car had one
• The police report and sketch plan
• The company’s own insurance details

Ask for these early, since fleet and job records are not always kept for long.

Were you partly at fault?

If your own actions played a part in the crash, a court can reduce your compensation for that share rather than end the claim, and this is never a fixed percentage.^[3] The employer question sits alongside this, not instead of it.

Read how contributory negligence works for the general rule.

What to do at the scene and after

1. Get medical attention and keep every record.
2. Lodge a police report within 24 hours, noting the company’s name and the vehicle’s plate.^[2]
3. Photograph the vehicle’s livery, logo or job details if visible.
4. Ask the driver, if they are willing, whether they were on a work errand.
5. Notify the company’s insurer as well as your own.

For how an employer’s responsibility works more broadly, see road accident and your employer.