Is The Owner or Driver Liable in a Car Accident?

Typically the driver will be held liable for committing a crime or causing any damage. At the scene of an accident, an officer will make what’s called a traffic collision report. In that report, there will be a vehicle code that cites the name of the driver of the car that ended up causing the accident. The owner isn’t usually held liable for accidents that happen in their car while someone else is driving.

However, they aren’t completely safe. The owner can be liable with negligent entrustment. This means that they entrusted their car to someone in a way that did not uphold the ordinary amount of care a person would take to avoid causing harm to others. What if the owner knows that a driver is unfit to drive and they release their vehicle to them? Then, if that driver gets into a car accident, they could be held liable. This is, for their part in putting that driver behind the wheel.

Consider an owner of the vehicle who knows that a person has been drinking and that they’re unfit to drive. What if the owner lets them use their vehicle and that person gets into an accident? As a result, the owner could be liable in that situation. This situation is common in negligent entrustment. Another example is when the owner of a car allows someone without a driver’s license to drive their car. Then, the untrained driver causes an accident. The biggest exception here is in the case of theft. What if a person steals your car and causes an accident? As a result, you cannot be held liable for their actions because you did not entrust the vehicle to them.

Have you been affected by an accident? Whether in the San Diego area or nationally, you don’t have to go through it alone. Give us a call at Simpson Law Group. We have experienced car accident attorneys who have worked with auto accidents. We’re here to help.