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Held in terror by coworker

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The name of my state is Arkansas.

Here is a suimmary of the events that have happened over the previous two weeks. I am wondering if my company can be held liable for what happened to me. When reading this, please keep in mind I'm only 24, and new to this business. I'm an over the road truck driver. I just took a job driving for a company who's name I won't mention on here. They put me with a codriver (age 47) who first of all, has a history of violence, including a misdameanor conviction for assaulting a police officer and his own brother. During the time on the truck, he flaunted his violent tendencies and talked about his temper control problems. He threatened physical harm to me on more than one occasion, and told me he could kill me with one blow. He would talk over and over about how mad the company was over a few paperwork mistakes I had made. He would sit there and tell me all the big guys were talking bad about me, and that when I got back, I was going to go before a board, that I would be suspendeed and fired, and that they would put stuff on my record so bad that I would never be able to drive a truck again. He had me so petrifiefd that I was going to lose my job when we go tback to the terminal and that I was in major troiuble. He would talk about these things for hours on end, day after day. He told me how they were watching my every move and if I made one mistake it was over. He told me on numerous occasions that if I did this or didn't do that, he would kick me off the truck right then and there. The last couple of days I was on the truck with him, he did something with a check for a customer to keep the money and did it to where it would look like I did it, not him. He talked about how smooth he was and how I was going to be arrested for fraud when we got back, that the feds would be waiting for me. Each day I grew more uncomfortable with him and feared for my life more, the way he was using fear to control me. I was in constant terror over anything I did next. I was called dorogatory names like stupid, pus**, bi***, a wuss, sissy. Anything I did different than he thought I should do, he would harass me for. Now the last 2 days on the truck, I realized that the things he had been saying didn't add up, that if the company had all of these problems with me they would have contacted me and discussed them with me. When we got back to the terminal, he quit and the company never said a word to me about anyything. But still he used fear and manipulation to hold me in tettor for 2 weeks and I am still shaken up about it. I'm leaving this company and taking a week off before I go back out on the road again, to get my emotions sorted out. I have written a statement and documented everything in a lot greater detail than I put on here. Now my question is this: do I have the right to take legal action (ie sue) this company for him holding me in terror while I was on the truck? And do I have any right to take legal action against the driver himself? Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Ryan
 


mlane58

Senior Member
If the company didn't know he held you in terror and the guy quit as soon as you returned, how in the world can you expect the company to be liable. In order for any organization toi try and fix a problem, they have to know about and the only obligation a company has is to stop the problem if it is illegal. I don't see you having any recourese against this company as they clearly didn't know about what the driver did to you, according to your post.
 

xylene

Senior Member
Get an in-town CDL job.

Advantages:

Hourly Wage!
No on the road BS.
No log book.
Normal regular schedule like most people's job.
Work alone Not on the road with freakshow.
If you have a helper to load unload, he is your subordinate.
Break downs not on your dime.
Company has incentive to do maintenance and have it done regularly.

Any CDL driver will tell you this is route to take if you don't want to wind up like your 'buddy'.
 

MyHouse

Member
If he threatened to hurt you, you could have called the police.

Why would you quit the company now? He's gone!

I know what it's like to be terrified of a coworker. I worked with a guy (State of Arkansas) who flaunted his gun permit and his target (full of holes) from the shooting range. He constantly spoke of revenge and he was always upset with somebody and was paranoid. He pushed me over a table and held me down. He did it gently and didn't hurt me, but it was very inappropriate. I went to my supervisor and he did nothing. I left work and contacted the director and all he did was move me to another area. The director talked to legal and there was nothing they could do as far as firing him. I think the person actually has to do something illegal. Maybe the threats would have been enough for you... but it's too late now. Just try to chill.... You will always come across weirdos, jerks, and generally difficult people while working. Hopefully no more violent psychos.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Now my question is this: do I have the right to take legal action (ie sue) this company for him holding me in terror while I was on the truck? No, for several reasons. 1) You never told management about his behavior so they had no idea what he was doing; 2) you (literally) could have walked away from the job any time you liked; and 3) you weren't harmed.

And do I have any right to take legal action against the driver himself? You can talk to an attorney about whether you can bring a civil claim against the driver for intential infliction of emotional distress (or similar) but keep in mind that civil claims take years to progress though the system, you'll have substantial legal bills to pay, and I'd guess this driver doesn't have a pot to pee in. So even if you DO win a judgment against him years down the road, chances are you won't ever see a penny.

My advice is to chalk it up to an awful learning experience and take action right away if you're have to work with someone like that again. In other words, tell your boss and/or HR right away! I think they'd like to know that one of their employees is terrorizing a new employee and stealing from the company.
 

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