How would it be possible for someone to be working at a desk and then become liable for some driver’s negligence? That would be the case, if the driver had been at the wheel of a company car and had been operating the same vehicle as part of his or her job. The driver’s employer would be held liable for any damages, if the employee operating the company’s car had an accident.
The legal system has two different phrases that are used to describe the employer’s situation. The employer could be charged with vicarious liability or imputed negligence. Yet those phrases refer to only one of several situations in which the person held liable for an accident was nowhere near the automobile with the negligent driver. If there has been such an accident, it is important to talk with a personal injury lawyer in Sault Ste. Marie.
A law in some states
In some states, the owner of a car becomes responsible for any accident that involves the same owner’s vehicle. There is one time when the owner could not be held liable, even if the negligent driver caused a great deal of damage. That would be any time when someone had taken the car’s keys without telling the vehicle’s owner.
Laws that cover the actions of parents
If a parent lets a teenage son or daughter use the family car, that parent becomes liable, if the same teenager drives in a careless and neglectful manner. In fact the owner of a family’s automobile becomes responsible for any accident that has been caused by any family member that was at the wheel of the same vehicle.
If a parent gives the keys to a minor child, and that child becomes guilty of negligent driving, then the parent gets held liable for any damages. By the same token, if a parent sign’s an application for a driver’s license, an application made out in the name of a young, underage son or daughter, then that parent invites trouble. He or she would be held liable for damages, if the same minor got careless and neglectful, and thus caused an accident.
The law that covers negligent entrustment
That phrase refers to a specific action; one that entails the handing a car’s keys to any incompetent driver. The law has listed the types of drivers that legal authorities view as incompetent. That list includes those drivers that are intoxicated, unlicensed, underage, inexperienced, elderly or ill. Any driver that had driven recklessly earlier would also belong on that particular list.
The laws that relate to a driver’s or car owner’s liability appear to agree “trust but verify.” In other words all automobile owners should learn about any person that has asked to borrow the keys.