Hit a Parked Car While Working Off the Books: Who Pays the Damage in Pennsylvania

Attorney Answer

The owner of the parked car can look to you, as the driver, and possibly to the company. Pennsylvania makes an employer responsible for an employee's carelessness on the job, and whether you count as an employee depends on whether the company controlled how you did the work, not on whether you were on the payroll. Whose car you were driving usually decides which insurance answers first. Whether the company has to cover what you end up paying is a separate question that turns on what you were promised and on any insurance — one to put to a lawyer.

The company's responsibility. An employer is liable for an employee's wrongful acts committed within the course and scope of employment, as the Superior Court restated in Brezenski v. World Truck Transfer, Inc., 755 A.2d 36 (Pa. Super. 2000). Whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor turns on whether the company had the right to control the manner of the work, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held in Green v. Independent Oil Co., 414 Pa. 477, 201 A.2d 207 (1964). Being paid in cash, off the books, does not answer that question either way; who told you what to do, when and how, is what does. If you were on a job errand when you hit the car, the owner may have a claim against the company as well as against you.

Which insurance. If you were driving a company vehicle, the company's auto policy, if it has one, is usually the first place to look, because auto policies commonly cover a driver using the vehicle with the owner's permission. If it was your own car, your own liability coverage usually answers first, although some personal policies limit coverage for business use. “I was told I was insured” is worth pinning down: ask the company, in writing, for the name of the insurer and the policy number.

The owner's claim. The owner of the parked car has two years to sue over the damage. 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524:

The following actions and proceedings must be commenced within two years:

(3) An action for taking, detaining or injuring personal property, including actions for specific recovery thereof.

A claim of that size usually goes before a magisterial district judge, whose limit is $12,000 under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1515(a)(3).

If a judgment is entered against you and not paid. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1772(a):

(a) General rule.-- The department, upon receipt of a certified copy of a judgment, shall suspend the operating privilege of each person against whom the judgment was rendered except as otherwise provided in this section and in section 1775 (relating to installment payment of judgments).

But § 1772(c) relieves a driver who can show coverage was in place, which is one more reason to pin down the insurance you were told about:

(c) Financial responsibility in effect at time of accident.-- Any person whose operating privilege has been suspended, or is about to be suspended or become subject to suspension, under this chapter shall be relieved from the effect of the judgment as prescribed in this chapter if the person files evidence satisfactory to the department that financial responsibility was in force and effect at the time of the accident resulting in the judgment and is or should be available for the satisfaction of the judgment.

What you can do

1. Ask the company, in writing, for its insurer's name and policy number, and keep its answer.

2. If it was your own car, report the accident to your own auto insurer.

3. If you receive court papers, respond by the date on them, and send copies to every insurer that might cover you.

4. Keep records of the work: who assigned it, how and when you were paid, and the instructions you were given that day.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Pennsylvania attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A lawsuit for damage to a vehicle or other property must be filed within two years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(3). If you are sued, the papers carry their own response deadline.