Employers Scramble to Limit Cell Phone Use While Driving
August 29, 2001
As cell-phone related auto accidents with deadly consequences increase, employers are restricting their employees' use of cell phones while operating vehicles. Recently, the family of a 15-year-old girl killed when a busy attorney talking on her cell phone ran her over, filed a $30 million lawsuit against the lawyer's firm. Attorney Jane Wagner thought she ran into a deer on March 8, 2000 but later realized what she had done after hearing a local news report of a hit-and-run driver. She turned herself into police the next day and pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run. Wagner is now serving one year in a work-release program.
The multi-million dollar lawsuit against her firm is grabbing the attention of a variety of employers. Many are scrambling to implement policies such as requiring employees to pull over if they must transact business while traveling. In addition, some employers now require employee drivers to use hands-free cellular devices.
In 1997, Salomon Smith Barney settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a motorcyclist killed when one of the company's brokers ran a red light while retrieving a dropped cell phone. The brokerage house paid the family $500,000 but admitted no liability.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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