[nathanolson]

I dinged a company van (while on lunch break - it was my fault) Already had 2 other incidents - I was fired on the spot & that's OK. I'm just wondering if my former employer can sue me for damages to their van? Damages are cosmetic only $8400

[AK lawyer]

... only $8400

Only? That's a chunk of change!

Yes, they, or their insurance carrier, can certainly sue you.

[ballengerb1]

That is one heck of a ding. Were you covered by their insurance on the van?

[smoothy]

$8,400 goes well beyond "cosmetic" Was every panel on the vehicle including the roof "dinged"?

[AK lawyer]

... Were you covered by their insurance on the van?

Good point. If OP was covered, the insurer might not be allowed to sue OP. I guess it would depend on the terms of the policy.

[smoothy]

And as you point out... what their deductible was. Or if like some big companies are... they are self insured. The company I work for is self insured as an example. I no longer work in a position where I travel or have use of a company vehicle due to a transfer and promotion.

[Alty]

Most companies that use multiple company vehicles, insure them under a garage policy. They are required to give a list of drivers of those vehicles, their DL info, and the insurance company either accepts or rejects the employee as a driver. If you're listed on the insurance policy as a driver of the fleet of vehicles (company vehicles) then they cannot sue you for the damage. They may be able to sue you for the deductible.

A lot more info is needed.

In this case it's more of a matter of can they win, not can they sue. Of course they can sue. Can they win depends a lot on the insurance policy that was in place for their company vehicles, whether you were added as a driver, etc. etc.

[Fr_Chuck]

If the accident was your fault, yes you can be sued. Either them, or their insurance company can sue you, Normally does not happen, but it can.

[AK lawyer]

Most companies that use multiple company vehicles, insure them under a garage policy. They are required to give a list of drivers of those vehicles, their DL info, and the insurance company either accepts or rejects the employee as a driver. If you're listed on the insurance policy as a driver of the fleet of vehicles (company vehicles) then they cannot sue you for the damage. They may be able to sue you for the deductible.

A lot more info is needed.

In this case it's more of a matter of can they win, not can they sue. Of course they can sue. Can they win depends a lot on the insurance policy that was in place for their company vehicles, whether you were added as a driver, etc. etc.

A common-sense example may help explain what we mean here:

Suppose you are in an accident with your own vehicle, which is damaged. You put in a claim with your insurance company to pay for the repair expenses (less deductible), and the owner of the other vehicle also makes a claim. Your company pays both claims. Obviously, if the insurance company could then sue you for the amount they had to pay, that wouldn't make sense; why would you pay for insurance if they could do that? So insurance policies protect insured owners from that sort of liability.

Similarly, a named-insured employee would also probably be protected.

[Alty]

A common-sense example may help explain what we mean here:

Suppose you are in an accident with your own vehicle, which is damaged. You put in a claim with your insurance company to pay for the repair expenses (less deductible), and the owner of the other vehicle also makes a claim. Your company pays both claims. Obviously, if the insurance company could then sue you for the amount they had to pay, that wouldn't make sense; why would you pay for insurance if they could do that? So insurance policies protect insured owners from that sort of liability.

Similarly, a named-insured employee would also probably be protected.

Exactly.

Now, if they hired a driver for their vehicles and didn't inform the insurance company of the addition of said driver, and provide his/her driving info so they could check for previous accidents, tickets, DUI's etc. and decide whether they wanted to take on the risk of that driver, or charge more because of his/her age, tickets, etc. then the insurance company could refuse to cover the damage caused by that driver, in which case the company could go after the driver for the cost of repairs.

It's a bit of a double edged sword though. If the company sues they would then be asked why they didn't add the driver to their insurance, and they may lose because they were not being truthful to their insurance provider.

But it all depends on the policy in place. Without knowing what sort of insurance policy the company had, what the protocol was for adding drivers to the fleet, etc. etc. there really is no way to successfully answer this question.