Legal Question in Personal Injury in Delaware

Re: doctrine of respondent superior

This doctrine (which is actually called "respondeat superior") states that a principal is responsible for the wrongful acts of his/her/its agent, if the agent was acting within the scope of his/her/its agency at the time. Thus, if a bus driver runs a red light and causes an accident while on her route the bus company is likely to be held liable, but if she decides to take an unauthorized hoy ride with the bus and causes a similar accident, the company might be able to avoid liability.

There are more nuances to the rule than I can fit into this answer, but this is the general idea.