From the Single Mom's Law School Experience, then "Almost Attorney" to FINALLY an Esquire!: Just when you think you have seen it all

Friday, January 23, 2009

Just when you think you have seen it all

In Employment law for today we read a case for negligent hiring. A trucking company hired a man who it turned out had criminal convictions for rape. He used his semi-trucks to pick up hitch hikers, who he then victimized. Once he was out of prison, he applied to work for a new company. The company did the required drug testing and driving record. The employee lied on his application marking he had no criminal record. The company hired him after his driving record came back clean. The driver ends up picking up a 17 year old hitchhiker and rapes and sodomizes her.

The victim sues the trucking company saying that they negligently hired the driver. The thrust of the claim is that the company had a duty to do a criminal background check because a) it was well known that contrary to company policy, truck drivers pick up hitchhikers and b) because the over the road long haul truck had a sleeper berth, there was a heightened duty to because basically there was a rolling bedroom and of course companies should be aware that drivers could commit crimes in it................

Can you say ridiculous? Where do I start with this one? Would it not be more foreseeable that the 17 year old should not have hitch hiked? I mean, didn't your parents warn you about the axe murderer? Mine did. Or what about the expense and impossibility of running a nationwide criminal background check on truckers? Trucking companies already have to pay out a load of money when trying to hire a new driver. They run driver license checks, pay for drug tests, and numerous other things to make them compliant with federal laws and regulations. It's ridiculous to think that they need to become crime prevention specialists based upon the fact that they have "rolling bedrooms" in the back of the truck.

Just goes to show that instead of taking responsibility for our own unwise choices these days, people are willing to shift the blame and sue someone else who did not even perpertrate the crime!!!!! The only thing the company did was hire the criminal.

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FAQ

Lots of people ask me: how do you do it? How do you attend law school and raise a child alone? My answer is simply that you prioritize. You approach school as an 8 to 5 job. I take Friday evenings and Saturday's off. Study a bit on Sundays. For me this works. It means not being a part of the "social" things at school, and that time between your classes is in the library studying. But that's okay. You will have different goals then the students who are single with no children.

How do you afford it? Student loans........yes, you heard me. My reasoning is that my earning capacity will double, but likely triple, which means that I can afford to take on the debt to pay for a better future for my daughter and I.

Does you daughter resent you studying? No. Sometimes she gets frustrated, but she really does understand the bigger picture. She is my biggest supporter. I have learned to include her by taking her to class with me when I can, by having her help me study with flash cards, and by taking her to appropriate events at school. In fact, I did an incoming student panel one year, and the administration of the school had her speak as well. We are a team, and that includes this journey.