Liability in Car Accident Claims Explained
Most car crash claims begin with the other driver, but the driver is not always the only responsible party. The vehicle owner, an employer, a government agency or a parts manufacturer may also play a role. Sorting out who may be legally responsible is an early task for a car accident attorney, since each responsible party may carry its own insurance.
The other driver
Negligence asks whether a driver failed to act with reasonable care. Common examples include speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, following too closely and failing to yield. In many states, violating a traffic law can be evidence of negligence, and some states apply negligence per se. A citation can help a claim, but fault can be proven without one, and the effect of paying a ticket differs by state. A car crash lawyer will measure the driver's conduct against the traffic laws where the crash happened.
Owners and rental companies
When the driver borrowed the car, the owner's policy often covers permissive users. The owner may also face a negligent entrustment claim for lending a car to someone known to be unlicensed, impaired or unsafe. Rental and leasing companies are treated differently. A federal law known as the Graves Amendment generally protects them from liability for a renter's negligence, unless the company was negligent itself, for example by renting out a car with a known brake defect.
Employers and work vehicles
If the driver was acting within the scope of employment, the employer is usually answerable for the driver's negligence under respondeat superior. This can cover delivery drivers, sales staff and others who drive as part of the job. Rideshare crashes raise their own coverage questions, because the coverage that applies can depend on whether the app was on and whether a ride had been accepted. An auto accident lawyer will usually ask for the employer's policy along with the driver's own.
https://troykbnq211.capitaljays.com/posts/police-reports-dashcam-video-and-car-crash-evidenceOther parties that may share fault
A missing stop sign, a broken traffic signal or a dangerous road defect may point to a government agency. Claims against cities, counties and states face special immunity rules and short notice deadlines, and those rules vary by state. When a defective tire, brake or airbag contributed to the crash or the injuries, the manufacturer can face a product liability claim. Open recalls can be checked with the vehicle identification number on the NHTSA recall lookup. Some states have dram shop laws that allow claims against a bar that served a visibly intoxicated driver.
When a passenger is hurt
Passengers who are hurt may have claims against one driver or both, even the driver of their own vehicle. Coverage can come from the policy on the car the passenger rode in and from the other driver's policy, and in some cases from the passenger's own policy. Some policies limit claims between members of the same household, so the exact policy language matters.
How shared fault affects the claim
Most states use comparative negligence, which may reduce a recovery by the injured person's percentage of fault, while a few jurisdictions still follow contributory negligence. How fault is divided among several defendants also varies by state. A car accident attorney looks at every possible party because one policy may not cover the full loss. This is general information and not legal advice, and it cannot predict how a claim will turn out.