In a typical fender-bender, you deal with one driver and one policy. Commercial crashes are different because the law looks past the driver to the business behind the wheel. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is responsible for the negligence of a worker acting within the scope of the job, which puts the company, and its commercial policy, squarely in the claim.

Depending on how the crash happened, the parties who may share responsibility include:

• ✓The driver who caused the crash
• ✓The company that employed the driver or owned the vehicle
• ✓A separate motor carrier, broker, or contractor that controlled the route
• ✓A maintenance or repair vendor that signed off on an unsafe vehicle
• ✓A cargo loader whose shifting or overweight load contributed

Kentucky follows pure comparative fault under KRS 411.182, so more than one party can be assigned a share of the blame. Sorting out who is responsible, and reaching each available policy, is where commercial cases are won or lost.