The van that ran the light had a company logo on the door. Or the pickup had a contractor’s name and a phone number down the side. Maybe it was a delivery driver in a plain car who was clearly working, because the back seat was full of packages.
Look closer at that vehicle, because it changes your case. When somebody hurts you while they’re working, their employer may be on the hook too. And employers usually carry a whole lot more insurance than the driver does.
Why the employer matters so much
Texas requires drivers to carry minimum liability coverage of 30/60/25. That’s 30,000 dollars per injured person, 60,000 per crash, and 25,000 for property damage. If you’ve been to an emergency room in Houston lately, you know 30,000 dollars doesn’t go far. A surgery and a few months of therapy can blow past it before you’ve missed your first mortgage payment.
Commercial policies are typically written at much higher limits. Same crash, same injuries, entirely different picture of whether you’ll actually be made whole. That’s why identifying an employer early is one of the most valuable things you can do.
The legal hook
Texas recognizes that an employer can be responsible for the negligent acts of an employee committed within the course and scope of employment. The doctrine is called respondeat superior. Boiled down, if the driver was doing their job when they hit you, their employer may answer for it.
There are also claims that target the company’s own conduct rather than the driver’s, such as negligent hiring, negligent training, negligent supervision, or negligent entrustment of a vehicle to someone the company should have known was dangerous.
The fight you should expect
Companies do not volunteer for this. The standard defense is that the driver was off the clock, on a personal errand, or an independent contractor rather than an employee.
Course and scope
A driver running a work delivery is one thing. A driver who left the route to pick up their kid is another. The commute to and from work often falls outside the scope, with exceptions. Where your crash falls on that line is a fact question, and the facts are usually in the company’s records, not yours.
The contractor label
Calling somebody a contractor doesn’t automatically make them one. What matters is the actual relationship, including how much control the company had over the way the work was performed. Don’t accept a label at face value.
What to do at the scene and after
Evidence about the employer disappears faster than evidence about the crash. Move on this.
- Photograph the vehicle including the logo, any lettering, the license plate, and any USDOT number on the door.
- Get the driver’s name, personal insurance, and the name of the company they were working for.
- Ask the driver, calmly, whether they were working at the time. Write down what they say.
- Look for witnesses and nearby cameras. Business and dash camera footage often gets overwritten within days.
- Get the CR-3 crash report, which frequently identifies a commercial vehicle and its owner. The Texas Department of Transportation explains how to request one here.
- Don’t give a recorded statement to the company’s insurer before you understand your claim. See dealing with insurance adjusters.
Move fast on company records
Driver logs, dispatch records, maintenance files, GPS and telematics data, and internal incident reports are the proof of course and scope. Companies have retention schedules, and once material is gone it’s gone. Getting a preservation demand out early can matter more than anything else you do in the first month.
Fault still gets divided
Having a company on the other side doesn’t change the rules of the road. Texas is an at-fault state and uses a 51% modified comparative negligence bar. More than 50% at fault and you recover nothing. At or below that, your recovery drops by your share. Expect a well-funded defense to push fault your direction, which is why the evidence work up front matters. Our page on the 51% rule explains it.
And the clock runs the same. Two years from the crash date to file suit for personal injury under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003, with situations that can change it. If a government entity owned the vehicle, different and much shorter notice rules can apply, so don’t sit on it.
We’re here to help you figure out who’s actually responsible. Start with a photo of that door.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sue the company if their employee hit me?
Possibly. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, a Texas employer can be responsible for an employee’s negligence committed within the course and scope of employment. Separate claims such as negligent hiring, training, supervision, or entrustment may also apply to the company’s own conduct.
What if the driver says they were an independent contractor?
The label alone is not decisive. Courts look at the actual working relationship, including the degree of control the company exercised over how the work was performed. Company records and testimony are often needed to sort it out.
Why does it matter whether the driver was working?
Insurance coverage. Texas minimum liability limits are 30,000 dollars per injured person, which serious injuries can exceed quickly. Commercial policies generally carry substantially higher limits, so establishing that the driver was working can determine whether adequate coverage exists.
This is general information, not legal advice.
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