In the Courts: Nursing Home Not Liable for Negligence of Off-Duty Employee Who Struck Woman with Car

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has held that a nursing home was not liable for the negligence of an off-duty employee who struck a woman with his personal vehicle after stopping by the nursing home to pick up his own tools. In so ruling, the appellate court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the nursing home.

The employee worked for the nursing home's maintenance department. The nursing home owned two trucks, which the employee sometimes used to perform his job duties. He never used his personal vehicle to pick up work-related supplies and never picked up work-related supplies outside work hours. To make his job easier, he sometimes...