Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Car Accident?
Most car crash claims begin 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. Identifying every party with legal responsibility is an early task for a car accident lawyer, because each party may have separate insurance.
The other driver
A negligence claim asks whether a driver failed to use reasonable care. Typical examples include distracted driving, speeding, impaired driving, following too closely and failing to yield. In many states, a traffic law violation can serve as evidence of negligence, and some states https://claytoniodh365.theglensecret.com/what-a-car-accident-attorney-looks-at-after-a-rear-end-or-t-bone-crash-1 apply negligence per se. A traffic citation helps a claim, but it is not required to prove fault, and paying a ticket is treated differently from state to 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 a special case. Under a federal law called the Graves Amendment, they are generally shielded 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.
Drivers on the job
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 separate coverage questions, since the available coverage can depend on whether the app was on and a ride had been accepted. An auto accident lawyer will typically request the employer's policy in addition to the driver's.
Government agencies and manufacturers
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. If a defective tire, brake or airbag contributed to the crash or the injuries, the manufacturer may 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.
Claims by passengers
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 reviews every possible party, since a single policy may not cover the whole loss. This article is general information, not legal advice, and it cannot predict how a claim will turn out.