What to do about a personal injury caused by a door-to-door salesperson?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What to do about a personal injury caused by a door-to-door salesperson?

A traveling saleswomen came to our door selling cleaning chemicals. I explained to her that we just buried my mother-in-law the day before so it wasn’t a good time. The lady became very rude and combative, going as far as to spray my wife with a chemical which caused a rash and severe itching. She was subsequently arrested and booked after we called 911. She even assaulted the police. I looked at the company website and their sales reps are listed as independent contractors. Can we still go after the company?

Asked on April 5, 2012 under Personal Injury, Texas

Answers:

Richard Weaver / The Weaver Law Firm

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

A good determining factor to see if the person was truly an independant contractor would be to examine the type and amount or degree of control that the Employer has over the Employee / so-called independant contractor. Then, yes you can sue the employer. But there may be other claim. Negligent hiring of the independant contractor?

DRichard White / MoKan Personal Injury Group

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

Just because a company website states that their sales reps are independent contractors does not mean that in fact the reps are indeed independent contractors. Whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor needs to be determined from the letters of engagement between the company and the sales rep, the extent of control the company exercises over the sales rep and a host of other questions. If it can be proven that the reps are actually employees then the company can be sued despite what it says on its website. Even if the sales rep was an independent contractor the company can still be sued if it can be proven that [1] the sales rep had a history of such inappropriate behavior, [2] the company knew of the sales reps' inappropriate behavior history and [3] despite such knowledge the company continued to allow the sales rep to be an independent contractor for the company.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption