Explaining Common Carrier Liability In Florida

Commercial vehicles are regularly involved in road accidents in Florida. If a person is injured in this type of crash and suffers a permanent injury, they may try to seek damages from the vehicle’s driver (and in some cases, their employer). However, when injured plaintiffs try to bring these suits alone, they often neglect to bring up the fact that the commercial vehicle may represent a common carrier. Common carrier liability is somewhat different than that of a private individual, and it can increase the chances that a defendant may be found liable in your case if it is found they acted as a common carrier.

A Broad Definition

Florida law defines a common carrier as a person or legal entity who undertakes, in their normal course of business, to “transport persons or commodities from place to place,” The entity must also offer its services to anyone who chooses to hire and pay them; it can be private as opposed to public, but it cannot discriminate. Thus, a public transit company like New York’s New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) counts as a common carrier, but so can a commercial vehicle transporting commodities, depending on the nature of their business.

The difference between standard liability and common carrier liability is one of degree. A common carrier must exercise the highest possible duty of care toward other road users, while an ordinary road user must only exercise reasonable care. As a result of this duty, it is important to note that common carriers are presumed to have been negligent, rather than the presumption of negligence starting on the injured plaintiff. Thus, it is the alleged common carrier that must prove they were not negligent, rather than the reverse.

Standards Of Care Differ

In addition to the high degree of care required of a common carrier, an injured plaintiff should be aware that a claim of liability against a common carrier does not only extend to the driver and their employer, but also to loaders, maintainers, and any other actor that might have played a role in putting the commercial vehicle on the road. Thus, if someone is injured in an accident with a common carrier, they may extend their proverbial net wide, seeking anyone who might have been negligent in causing the crash.

In addition, one important thing to keep in mind in seeking damages from a common carrier is that if the defense’s attorney tries to argue comparative fault, the standard for the plaintiff and the defendant are different. Comparative fault is a concept that holds that if a plaintiff is more than 50 percent liable for their own injuries, they may not receive any monetary damages from the defendant. However, in cases involving common carriers, the standard of care is higher for the carrier than for the injured plaintiff – the latter will only be judged by the standard of a ‘reasonably careful’ person, rather than the higher standard used for carriers.

Call A Tampa Commercial Vehicle Accident Attorney

Being involved in a road accident is never an enjoyable event, but if the other vehicle is a common carrier, the outcome of a lawsuit might be somewhat different. A Tampa commercial vehicle accident attorney from the Rinaldo Law Group can help determine your best options going forward. Contact our office today at (813) 831-9999 to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0768/Sections/0768.81.html