Ray Albertson and his 8-year-old son Joe were waiting for a “Walk” sign before crossing a street in downtown Omaha. A truck owned by Nebraska Newspaper Corporation (NNC) and operated by its employee, Donald Jones, crossed the intersection and jumped the curb, killing Joe and injuring Ray. Before reporting for work on the evening of the accident, Jones had consumed approximately seven mixed drinks containing vodka and had chugged a 27-ounce drink containing two shots of tequila. His blood alcohol content after the accident was 0.18 percent, far exceeding the legal limit. Evidence showed that the use of alcohol and marijuana on and off-the job was widespread at NNC. The company made no effort to prohibit use. Evidence further showed that NNC vehicles were returned with beer cans in them. On once occasion, a NNC supervisor with personal knowledge that drivers were smoking marijuana, told drivers drivers to “do it on the road”, not at the company. Ray Albertson sued Jones and NNC for physical injuries he sustained and for the wrongful death of his son, Joe.

1.Topic Questions: Using legal analysis, is NNC liable? Why or why not? Using legal analysis, is Jones liable? Why or why not? What should have NNC done to prevent this sort of situation? What if Jones was an independent contractor? How might that change the risk of liability for NNC?

2.Reflection Questions: What specific knowledge and information did you gain from the learning materials and activities that you can apply to your experiences now? In the future? For example, are there (or should there be) policies in your workplace to prevent this sort of situation? If you supervise employees in the future, how will you manage them to reduce the risk of liability in situations like this? Which topics were confusing, complicated or contradictory? Why? Did you ask the class or instructor for assistance? How will you apply what you learned this Module to your personal and business life?