Utility companies, contractors, service businesses, distributors, and government contractors run fleets of company cars, vans, and trucks. When a fleet driver causes a serious crash, the claim often turns on the employer: whether the driver was on the job, who owned the vehicle, what the company knew about the driver, and how much insurance the fleet carries. Gross Law Group represents people and families hurt in crashes with company and fleet vehicles in Pensacola, Escambia County, and Santa Rosa County.
Our Pensacola office is at 21 East Garden Street, Suite 208. We investigate the employer as well as the driver, request the fleet's policies and records, and pursue the compensation the law allows for medical care, lost income, and the long-term effects of a serious injury.
The first consultation is free. Call (850) 331-7775 or contact us online.
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Key Takeaways About Pensacola Employer and Fleet Vehicle Claims
- An employer is generally responsible for an employee's negligent driving within the course and scope of the job.
- A company that owns a vehicle may be responsible under Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine when someone it allowed to use the vehicle causes a crash.
- A company may also face direct claims if it hired, kept, or gave a vehicle to a driver it knew or should have known was unsafe.
- Fleet policies are often written with higher limits than most private drivers carry, sometimes with excess or umbrella coverage, and Florida law allows a written request for a sworn statement of those limits.
- The first consultation is free.
Company and Fleet Vehicles Around Pensacola
Interstate 10 carries traffic east and west across Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, and Interstate 110 connects I-10 to downtown Pensacola. U.S. 29 runs north from Pensacola through Cantonment and Century toward Alabama, and U.S. 98 crosses Pensacola Bay on the Pensacola Bay Bridge between Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. Company cars, service vans, and contractor pickups travel these roads throughout the workday.
Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Santa Rosa County bring federal vehicles and contractors onto local roads along with business fleets. A crash caused by a federal employee on the job generally falls under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which usually requires a written claim to the federal agency within two years before any lawsuit (28 U.S.C. 2401(b)). Claims against a government agency are subject to written notice requirements and damage limits under Fla. Stat. 768.28.
When an Employer Is Responsible for a Crash
Under Florida law, an employer is generally responsible for the negligence of an employee acting within the course and scope of employment. This is often called respondeat superior. Driving to a job site or making a service call will often be within the scope of the job. Ordinary commuting and purely personal trips are often treated differently, and the answer depends on the facts, including what the employer required and whether the employee was being paid for the time.
Ownership matters too. Under Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine, a company that owns a vehicle and allows an employee to use it can be responsible for that employee's negligent driving, even on some trips that were not work-related. Florida law limits the liability of some vehicle lessors and rental companies (Fla. Stat. 324.021(9)(b)), and a federal law protects many rental and leasing companies that are not themselves negligent (49 U.S.C. 30106).
Negligent Hiring, Retention, and Entrustment
Some claims are against the employer for its own conduct. A company may be responsible if it hired or kept a driver it knew or should have known was unsafe, or gave a vehicle to a driver with a poor record. These claims look at the company's driver screening, training, and safety policies.
Fleet Insurance and Policy Limits
Businesses with fleets commonly insure them under commercial auto policies, and some carry excess or umbrella policies above those limits. Some commercial policies also include coverage for vehicles the business does not own, such as employees' personal cars used on company business. Limits vary widely, and some large companies are partly self-insured, so the coverage must be confirmed from the documents. Florida law requires a liability insurer, within 30 days of a claimant's written request, to provide a sworn statement of each known policy, including excess or umbrella insurance, with the limits of coverage and a copy of the policy (Fla. Stat. 627.4137).
Heavier fleet trucks bring federal and Florida minimums into play. Federal rules set minimum liability insurance for interstate for-hire carriers hauling property in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more: $750,000 for general freight, $1,000,000 for oil and many hazardous materials, and $5,000,000 for certain bulk hazardous materials (49 CFR 387.9). Trucks that run only inside Florida can carry far less. Florida's minimums for intrastate commercial motor vehicles weighing 26,000 pounds or more range from $50,000 to $300,000 depending on weight (Fla. Stat. 627.7415).
Fleet Records That Can Matter
- Telematics and GPS data showing speed, braking, location, and route
- Dash camera and in-cab video
- Dispatch, work order, and job assignment records that show whether the driver was on the job
- The driver's hiring file, motor vehicle record checks, training records, and prior incident reports
- Vehicle ownership, lease, inspection, and maintenance records
Carriers only have to keep drivers' records of duty status and supporting documents for six months (49 CFR 395.8(k)), and telematics, GPS, and camera systems can overwrite data much sooner. We send preservation demands early.
If You Were Hurt While Working
If you were hurt while working for the same employer as the driver, Florida's workers' compensation law generally limits claims against that employer (Fla. Stat. 440.11), although claims against other responsible parties, such as another company or another driver, may still be available.
Serious Injuries and Wrongful Death
Crashes with fleet trucks and company vehicles can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, fractures that require surgery, and fatal injuries. Learn more about how we approach catastrophic injury cases and wrongful death claims.
Florida Law and Escambia County Courts
Florida requires vehicle owners to carry $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability, but most drivers are not required to carry bodily injury liability coverage (FLHSMV). PIP generally pays 80 percent of reasonable, medically necessary medical expenses if you receive initial treatment within 14 days; the full $10,000 is available for medical care only if a qualifying provider determines you had an emergency medical condition, and medical benefits are limited to $2,500 if a provider determines you did not (Fla. Stat. 627.736). To claim pain and suffering against an at-fault driver, the injury must involve significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, a permanent injury, significant permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death (Fla. Stat. 627.737(2)).
Under the 2023 changes to Florida law (HB 837), most negligence claims arising after March 24, 2023 must be filed within two years (Fla. Stat. 95.11(5)(a)), and wrongful death claims also carry a two-year deadline (Fla. Stat. 95.11(5)(e)). Florida now uses modified comparative fault: in most negligence cases, a person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own injury cannot recover damages, and a lower share of fault reduces the recovery (Fla. Stat. 768.81(6)).
HB 837 also changed how medical bills are proven. Evidence of medical bills that have already been paid is now limited to the amount actually paid; evidence of unpaid bills generally includes what the injured person's health coverage would pay (or, for people without private coverage, an amount tied to Medicare or Medicaid rates); and treatment under a letter of protection must be disclosed (Fla. Stat. 768.0427). That makes careful documentation of current and future care more important than ever.
Lawsuits arising in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties are filed in Florida's First Judicial Circuit (Florida Courts). Some cases against out-of-state companies may be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, which holds court in Pensacola (28 U.S.C. 89).
Speak With a Pensacola Employer Fleet Accident Lawyer
If you were seriously hurt, or lost a loved one, in a crash with a company or fleet vehicle in the Pensacola area, call Gross Law Group at (850) 331-7775 or reach us online. We handle injury cases on a contingency fee: No Recovery, No Fee. The first consultation is free.
We also handle Pensacola truck accident cases, Pensacola car accident cases, Pensacola delivery vehicle crashes, and other Pensacola personal injury claims.
Gross Law Group, P.A. – Pensacola Office
21 East Garden Street, Suite 208
Pensacola, FL 32502
Phone: (850) 331-7775
Pensacola Employer Fleet Accident FAQs
Is an employer responsible when an employee causes a crash?
Often the answer depends on whether the employee was acting within the course and scope of the job. An employer is generally responsible for an employee's negligent driving while doing the employer's work. A company that owns the vehicle may also be responsible under Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine, even for some trips that were not work-related.
What if the employee was driving a personal car for work?
The employer may still be responsible if the employee was doing the employer's work at the time. Some commercial policies include coverage for vehicles the business does not own, and the employee's personal policy may also apply. We request every policy that may apply.
What if the driver was commuting or running a personal errand?
Ordinary commuting is often treated differently from driving done for the job, and the answer depends on the facts. If the company owned the vehicle and allowed the employee to use it, the company may still be responsible as the owner, subject to limits Florida law places on some owners.
What if I was hurt by a co-worker while on the job?
Florida's workers' compensation law generally limits claims against your own employer (Fla. Stat. 440.11), but claims against other responsible parties, such as another company or another driver, may still be available.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
Florida generally allows two years to file a negligence lawsuit for claims arising after March 24, 2023, and two years for wrongful death claims (Fla. Stat. 95.11(5)(a) and (5)(e)). Fleet telematics, GPS, and camera records can be lost much sooner, so please call us promptly.
What does it cost to hire Gross Law Group?
See fee terms in your written agreement. The first consultation is free.