The Fiji Court of Appeal has ruled the Land Transport Authority is vicariously liable in a case in which one of its former employees hit a man with an LTA vehicle in 2013.

The High Court had on April 28 last year found LTA to be liable for damages to Praveen Krishna Naicker, a decision the LTA opposed and appealed against in the higher court.

“Even if an act is unauthorised or involves misconduct, the employer can still be liable if the act is closely connected to the employee’s duties, to ensure that employer takes responsibility for the employees’ actions, promoting accountability and safer practices,” said Justice Chandana Prematilaka in his July 26 ruling.

“In the case of Leoni Kacisau (LTA employee), despite his intoxication and speeding, his actions were connected to his employment duties (driving to a work-related destination), which supports the High Court’s ruling that LTA is vicariously liable.

“The above cases support the reasoning that LTA could be held vicariously liable for Kacisau’s actions since his driving of the LTA vehicle with an over-the-limit alcohol concentration in his blood, occurred while he was performing his job-related duty of driving to the work-related destination with examination papers to conduct an examination.”