Static Over Digital Liability
By Robert Warne - December 4, 2002The current era of digital technology has provided an onramp for employees to take corporate liability on the highway. Cell phones, pagers, laptops and PDAs not only can increase productivity but they can also distract employees and cause accidents.
Because there’s no established template for dealing with technological distraction related accidents, companies are left with a blank sheet of paper to draft their own digital risk program.
Creating a comprehensive policy can be risky no matter what stance a company takes on the use of digital devices.
The New York Times reported that a series of cases have started to color in the liability picture but there’s still a great deal of gray area for companies to sort out.
According to the Times, investment banking firm, Smith Barney was recently hit with a $500,000 settlement after one of its brokers was using a cell phone in his car and killed a motorcyclist.
Another case receiving much attention involves a Virginia lawyer who ran over a teenage girl while using a cell phone in her car.
Both the Virginia lawyer and the Smith Barney broker were tried and charged in criminal court, but it’s the unpredictable civil penalties have companies feeling uneasy.
An example of an unpredictable civil action occurred in August when a $28 million verdict was levied against Chase Manhattan Automotive Finance. Chase was sued because a teenager driving one of its leased vehicles while listening to the radio and chatting on a cell phone nearly killed a woman in a car wreck.
For certain sales and service oriented occupations digital devices have become an invaluable tool for closing more deals and giving better customer service.
Especially in areas where people spend hours in traffic every week or commute long distances, digital devices have transformed traditional sedans into mobile office suites.
Chubb & Son Vice President, Tim Diveley told the Times that, “Insurers are exposed in more circumstances than we have been in the past.” But he also said that he hadn’t seen a significant increase in claims related to employees working at nontraditional times or in nontraditional places yet.
With exposure on the workers’ compensation and civil liability front it is too early to determine the impact digital liability will have on future claims. For many companies a passive approach to the problem isn’t an option, but figuring out the best proactive approach has been a challenge. | 
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