Understanding Vicarious Liability in Oklahoma Truck Accident Cases

Oklahomans are no strangers to truck accidents. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), over 3,300 bus and truck accidents happened in the state in 2024, with 110 people losing their lives.

Of course, not all truck accidents are fatal. Many of the truck/bus accidents that happened in 2024 were non-fatal crashes, and many left victims dealing with significant injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, burns, and more.

If you’ve been hit by a commercial truck, it’s important to hold the responsible parties accountable. Obviously, that includes the driver, but in many cases, you can sue the trucking company in addition to the driver. This is called vicarious liability.

In this article we will walk through what vicarious liability means, when it applies in Oklahoma, and how it can boost your chances of getting the full amount you deserve.

What is vicarious liability?

Let’s start with defining vicarious liability. The general legal definition is “when a principal party is responsible for the actionable conduct of their agent based on the relationship between the two parties.”

The concept is that one party can be held legally responsible for another person’s actions if there’s a reason to do so.

Here’s an example. If an employee is doing their job and causes harm, their employer can be on the hook. This doesn’t mean the employer did anything wrong directly, of course. It means the law recognizes a relationship where there’s a shared responsibility between the employer and the employee (the employee would not have caused the damage if they weren’t performing duties specifically for the employer).

This is called the “respondeat superior” doctrine. The idea is that companies benefit from the work their employees do, so they should also bear the risks when that work harms others.

When does vicarious liability apply in Oklahoma truck accident cases?

Vicarious liability won’t come into play with every truck accident. Oklahoma law requires that specific conditions usually need to be met first, including:

1. The driver is an employee of the trucking company.

The trucking company has to have an actual employer-employee relationship with the driver. If the driver is a true independent contractor, it’s harder to use vicarious liability.

1. The driver was performing job-related duties.

   The driver had to be performing job-related duties when the accident happened. That means making deliveries, driving to a scheduled stop, or working on company business in some other way.

   If the driver was running a personal errand, taking an unauthorized detour, or using the truck for something unrelated to their job, the company may argue they’re not responsible.

2. The driver’s actions happened while on the job.

   The driver’s actions (speeding, texting while driving, ignoring safety rules, etc.) had to have happened while carrying out their job responsibilities.

Why vicarious liability matters in truck accident cases

If you’ve been hit by a truck, you could be facing massive medical bills, lost pay at work, ongoing rehabilitation costs, and lasting pain.

If you only sue the driver, their personal insurance coverage may not come close to covering everything. By holding the trucking company liable, you can tap into the company’s commercial insurance policies, which typically have much higher limits.

That means you have a better chance of getting full and fair compensation for things like long-term care needs, ongoing medical care related to the accident, and property damage.

Common defenses trucking companies use

Trucking companies don’t just roll over when accused of negligence. They usually fight to avoid paying, because it eats into their bottom line. They may:

• Claim the driver was an independent contractor. This is a classic move to dodge liability.
• Argue that the driver acted outside the scope of employment. For example, they might say the driver was off-duty or on a personal errand.
• Blame other parties. The trucking company could try to pin the blame on someone else, like a mechanic or even you.

How an attorney proves vicarious liability

Vicarious liability isn’t automatic. Your truck accident lawyer will need to build your case carefully. That means putting together a picture that shows that the driver was 1) an employee of the trucking company and 2) performing job-related duties when the accident happened. Some of the things that can help prove that include:

• Reviewing the driver’s employment records
• Examining trip logs, schedules, and GPS data
• Analyzing the trucking company’s control over the driver’s work, including the equipment utilized, routes, reporting requirements, etc.
• Interviewing witnesses and co-workers
• Obtaining the company’s policies, training materials, and contract

Can vicarious liability apply to independent contractors?

Yes, but it’s pretty rare. Oklahoma law doesn’t usually extend vicarious liability to cases involving independent contractors, but there can be exceptions.

Let’s say that the trucking company has significant control over the driver’s work, sets strict schedules, provides the truck, and tells the driver what routes they can have. In that case, they could be considered an employer in practice. Courts look at the actual working relationship, not just what the employer/company chooses to classify a worker as. With the huge incentive of avoiding potential “employer liability,” you never want to take the company’s word that the driver was “independent.”

Direct liability vs. vicarious liability

You also need to understand the difference between holding a company directly liable and holding them vicariously liable.

• Direct liability happens when the company itself acts negligently, like hiring an unqualified driver, not training them properly, or ignoring maintenance issues.
• Vicarious liability involves holding the company responsible for the employee’s actions, even if the company didn’t directly do anything wrong.

Don’t wait to file

In Oklahoma, most truck accident claims have a two-year statute of limitations. Waiting too long can mean losing your right to sue entirely. Plus, evidence like driver logs and GPS data can be destroyed, overwritten, or lost. Trucking cases oftentimes involve hidden or complex hierarchies or corporate schemes—even though it may appear one company bears the blame for a given incident, if you wait until the statute of limitations to run and ultimately determine other defendants could have or should have been named, you likely have missed your chance at bringing them into the case and holding them accountable.

Moving forward with your life

Don’t put your life on pause. By holding both the driver and the trucking company accountable, you give yourself the best shot at recovering the full amount you need to move forward.

If you’ve been hurt in a truck crash, you’re not limited to going after the truck driver. Talk to an experienced truck accident lawyer. Contact Biby Law Firm Injury and Accident Lawyers today to schedule your consultation.