Quiz: Is Lab Liable for Courier Driver’s Negligence?

SITUATION

A lab hires a third-party contractor to provide it courier services. The contractor hires the drivers and provides the vehicles and equipment they need to do the job. While collecting a sample for the lab, one of the contractor’s drivers slams into another vehicle. The victim sues not only the driver but also the lab for negligence.

QUESTION

Is the lab liable for the driver’s negligence?

A. No because the driver isn’t a lab employee

B. No because the driver is solely responsible for his own negligence

C. Yes because the driver got into the accident while working for the lab

D. Yes because the lab is responsible for the negligence of its independent contractors

ANSWER

A. The lab isn’t liable because it doesn’t have an employment relationship with the driver

EXPLANATION

Legally, there are at least two ways a lab can be held liable for the negligent driving of its couriers:

Negligence in hiring, retaining or supervising the driver; and/or

Via respondeat superior (Latin for “let the master answer”), a legal theory holding employers liable for the negligence committed by employees in the course of performing their employment duties.

In either case, the theory will work only if there’s an employment relationship between the lab and the courier. Moreover, an employment relationship is based not on a person’s title but the degree of control the lab exercises over his/her work. Thus, a driver may be deemed an employee even if the contract describes the arrangement as an independent contractor relationship.

The above scenario, which comes from an actual California case, illustrates how these principles play out in real life. The California court found no negligence because the driver was an independent contractor rather than an employee. More precisely, the driver was an employee of the courier company, which hired and controlled his work and provided him the equipment and tools necessary for him to work as a courier [Alcazar v. Idexx Labs., 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1208]. So, A is the right answer.

WHY WRONG ANSWERS ARE WRONG

C is wrong because simply committing negligence while in the course of performing work for a lab isn’t enough to establish the latter’s liability if the driver is an independent contractor.

D is wrong because employers are not, in fact, responsible for the negligence of their independent contractors—at least under a theory of negligent hiring or supervision, or respondeat superior.