Plano personal injury attorney Richard Armstrong says that a negligent hiring theory of recovery can result in high personal injury awards for plaintiffs.
It isn’t by accident, says Armstrong, that businesses, non-profits and governmental institutions routinely require criminal background checks these days. It is the first, but only the first. step in reducing claims for negligent hiring, like those handled by the Plano personal injury law firm known as Armstrong the Law Firm. If a business hires someone, for example, who has a strong possibility of coming into regular contact with children, it is just plain foolish not to perform a rigorous background check on the prospective employee, then act on the information obtained.
“A case in which our firm was involved settled for nearly one million dollars based on consistent that an apartment complex security officer was sexually assaulting daughters of apartment tenants. The security officer was grooming kids by luring them into his apartment–which was provided to him free by the complex as a benefit– letting them pet his German shepard, and offering them treats and money. After he built up their confidence he would show them dirty movies, then get them alone and make a move on them. Thankfully, this behavior is more unusual these days, but it still goes on. ”
“In the case described,” continues the Plano personal injury attorney, no background check was performed. However, it would not have made a difference in this case, because the man had no prior convictions.”
According to Armstrong, that is where the twin of the negligent hiring cause of action, negligent retention, comes into play. Once an employer is on notice that it has a predator or sexual deviant on its payroll, each day that goes by without his being terminated builds mounting evidence of negligent retention. In the case handled by Armstrong the Law Firm, the employee was allowed to remain months after it was known he performed non-assaultive sex acts in public. When the man was eventually apprehended, he locked himself in his apartment and slit his wrists.
In these type of aggregious situations, an experienced personal injury lawyer can often obtain high damage awards at trial or by out of court settlement. Says Armstrong, “The last thing an apartment complex or other business needs is the public perception that they harbor child molesters or sexual predators because of sloppy or negligent employment practices. They are more than willing, if they are caught, to pay a significant personal injury settlement to avoid the glaring publicity of a trial.” Some of the things that will be examined in this type of lawsuit include the personnel records of the company, the hiring and retention policies, if any; performance appraisals of the employee; records of reference checks and background checks; and complaint processes for aggrieved customers or tenants.
Armstrong the Law Firm is especially proud of its record in deterring these kinds of negligent employment practices by diligently pursuing personal injury trials where necessary, and achieving significant personal injury settlements where it serves the best interests of the client.
Armstrong the Law Firm is a Plano, Texas Personal Injury Law Firm with lawyers handling personal injury trials and settlements in a variety of areas since 1980.