Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Should the Employee be sued?
I was injured by an employee, and his employer has admitted that the employee was acting within the scope of his employment when I was injured. My attorney filed a lawsuit against the employer, but did not sue the employee. After my deposition last week, the defense attorney said that he was going to file some motion to have my case dismissined, because the employee was not a party to the case.
Has my attorney screwed up? I am worried now.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Should the Employee be sued?
You need to talk to your attorney about this. It is possible, but not likely. Discuss this with your attorney immediately.
Re: Should the Employee be sued?
Employers are liable for the wrongs committed by their employees while acting within the course and scope of their duties. It is usually not necessary to sue the individual employee along with the company. Unless there is something unusual about your case you should not be concerned.
Re: Should the Employee be sued?
Talk to your attorney, but I think you have nothing to worry about. A plaintiff does not have to sue every party who may have caused the injury; the employee might not have been sued because as an intentional act he would have no insurance coverage and as an hourly worker probably no assets to go after. The employee might be more willing to admit his fault if he knows he is not going to have a judgment against himself. So your attorney may have selected the best strategy for the case.
If defense counsel really thought he has a winning argument, why did he not bring it sooner? Do not believe everything that attorney say!
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