Parents of 17-year-old driver can be held liable for fatal crash that killed teen’s blind boss: Court

Background: Minnesota Court of Appeals (Google Maps). Inset: Jason Melvin Niebuhr (Legacy Remembers).

Background: Minnesota Court of Appeals (Google Maps). Inset: Jason Melvin Niebuhr (Legacy Remembers).

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the parents of a 17-year-old driver can be held liable in a wrongful-death lawsuit for the crash that killed the boy’s boss, a blind man who was riding in the car as a passenger. The case raised a tricky procedural question about whether immunity under workers’ compensation law extends to someone who might be vicariously liable for an employee’s negligence.

Jason Niebuhr, 39 years old at the time of his death, was the founder and sole owner of Wells Computer and Electronics, Inc., a company that repaired, sold, and installed various electronic equipment. Though Niebuhr was blind, he specialized in electronics repair and installation, and serviced many customers through his business.

Wells employed a handful of employees, including Jacob Sieberg. The employees primarily assisted Niebuhr. Wells maintained workers’ compensation insurance for its employees, but not for Niebuhr himself as an owner.

Sieberg worked at Wells during his junior year of high school, and his duties included helping install and repair equipment and driving Jason to and from customers’ homes — usually using the company vehicle. According to the court record, Sieberg occasionally used a personal truck owned by his parents for work purposes. Sieberg’s parents purchased the truck for their son’s use, and Sieberg used it to travel to and from school and work.

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