Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Car Accident?
Most car crash claims start with the other driver, but the driver is not always the only responsible party. An employer, the vehicle owner, a government agency or a parts maker can also play a role. Finding every responsible party is one of the first jobs of an auto 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. Common examples include speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, following too closely https://felixxmvi537.terracolumn.com/posts/police-reports-dashcam-video-and-car-crash-evidence and failing to yield. In many states, a traffic law violation can serve as evidence of negligence, and some states treat it as 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 compare the driver's conduct with the traffic laws of the state where the crash happened.
When someone else owns the car
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 itself was negligent, for example by renting out a car with a known brake defect.
Employers and work vehicles
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 apply to delivery drivers, sales staff and others who drive for work. 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. A motor vehicle accident attorney will typically request the employer's policy in addition to the driver's.
Other 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 public bodies come with 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. NHTSA's recall lookup shows open recalls by vehicle identification number. Some states have dram shop laws that allow claims against a bar that served a visibly intoxicated driver.
When a passenger is hurt
A passenger hurt in a crash may have claims against either 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 in some cases from the passenger's own policy. Some policies limit claims between members of the same household, which makes the wording of the policy important.
Comparative negligence and multiple parties
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. An automobile accident lawyer 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.