Who Is Liable in a Car Accident?
Most car crash claims begin with the other driver, but the driver is not always the only party who may be responsible. The vehicle owner, an employer, a government agency or a parts manufacturer may also play a role. Identifying every party with legal responsibility is an early task for a car accident lawyer, since each responsible party may carry its own insurance.
Claims against the driver
Negligence asks whether a driver failed to act with reasonable care. Typical examples include distracted driving, speeding, 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 traffic citation helps a claim, but fault can be proven without one, and paying a ticket is treated differently from state to state. A car accident attorney 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 https://caraccidentlawyers.wiki/topics/claims/ 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, such as by renting a car with known brake defects.
Drivers on the job
When a driver is working within the scope of employment, the employer is generally responsible 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 separate 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 typically request the employer's policy in addition to the driver's.
Road defects and product defects
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, which vary by state. If a defective tire, brake or airbag contributed to the crash or the injuries, the manufacturer may face a product liability claim. Open recalls can be checked with the vehicle identification number on the NHTSA recall lookup. In some states, a bar that served a visibly intoxicated driver may face a dram shop claim.
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 may come from the policy on the passenger's vehicle as well as from the other driver's policy, and sometimes from the passenger's own policy too. Certain policies restrict claims between relatives who live in the same household, which makes the wording of the policy important.
How shared fault affects the claim
Most states use comparative negligence, which can reduce a recovery by the injured person's share of fault, while a few jurisdictions still follow contributory negligence. States also differ in how fault is divided among several defendants. A car wreck lawyer looks at every possible party because one policy may not cover the full loss. This article is general information, not legal advice, and it cannot predict how a claim will turn out.