by Guest » Fri Feb 08, 2008 01:15 am
My son, the driver, was involved in an accident which was not his fault. The vehicle at fault paid for the damages. The problem, his girlfriend, was in the car with him, and now her parents are suing my son and the person who caused the accident. Is my son liable?
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 02:57 am Post Subject:
Only if he was negligent/liable in the accident. Difficult to know if he was liable as we don't know anything about the accident.
If a suit was filed, your son's carrier would have appointed him an attorney.
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 07:12 am Post Subject:
The problem, his girlfriend, was in the car with him, and now her parents are suing my son and the person who caused the accident. Is my son liable?
I see no reason why your son should be liable for the damages caused to her. According to you other other driver has already paid for the damages assuming the liability for the accident. Hasn't she reported her damage or injuries that time? Her damages should also get covered under the at-fault driver's BI liability insurance.
Tcope is right, if the suit is filed then your son's insurer will get a legal representative for him as they would definitely like to clear of the mess of any wrong claim. Please keep us update with the developments.
Thanks,
Ridgesimon
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 07:26 am Post Subject: safer side
If a suit was filed, your son's carrier would have appointed him an attorney.
It might as well take some time for him to come clean...depending on the extent of the offense in case a suit gets filed against him. In case he is not the offender, the party at-fault's liability or comprehensive (if any) should come into the picture. If the party at-fault didn't have it, then it could be demanded out of your son's UM coverage (if he had any). So, you understand why your son seems pretty much on the safer side of things :)
Carla~J
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 07:54 am Post Subject:
hey cookie, what type of damages were paid by the driver at-fault? is it only the wreck caused to the vehicle or the bodily injuries also? Has your son filed his injury claim under the PIP coverage with his insurer? If it has been the case then he may get responsible to pay for the medical bills of his girlfriend, as the PIP coverage also gets extended to the passenger riding the vehicle. Hope this clarifies.
However, like others I too support the view that your son doesn't have much to worry.
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:04 am Post Subject:
Welcome to the forums cookie, I agree with everyone else here, that the other person, if found at fault, should be responsible and their insurance company should come in and pick up the claim.
As the other posters have stated also, your son's insurance company should step in and protect him in this situation, goodluck, hope this works out soon.
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 05:28 pm Post Subject:
Carla, you said:
In case he is not the offender, the party at-fault's liability or comprehensive (if any) should come into the picture.
What does comprehensive (other than collision) coverage have to do with this? Comp is a physical damage coverage that pays for losses to the insured vehicle for OTHER than collision. Theft, fire, vandalism, etc. This coverage would have nothing to do with this situation whatsoever. Sorry.
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 06:41 pm Post Subject:
Long and short of it, you can only sue someone and win if they did something wrong. If he was not at fault, then he can't be held liable for her injuries. Yes, he is responsible for the safety of his passengers, but all drivers are responsible for not causing accidents
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 07:03 pm Post Subject:
Long and short of it, you can only sue someone and win if they did something wrong.
The operative word here is "negligence." It ALL stems from negligence, and in the absence of negligence, there is no fault that may be attributed to the insured in this case. On the other hand- you can sue anyone for anything in this country...that's what makes it great! :D
My son, the driver, was involved in an accident which was not his fault. The vehicle at fault paid for the damages. The problem, his girlfriend, was in the car with him, and now her parents are suing my son and the person who caused the accident. Is my son liable?
Even though this legal standard is somewhat of a dinosaur- was there any contributory negligence assigned to the son? If so, and this is in a contributory negligence state, then there may be issues. Not likely, but something to consider.
Lori--- you have lots of knowledge in the negligence arena...care to comment further?
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 09:46 pm Post Subject:
Joint and several....?
Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 09:57 pm Post Subject:
Joint and several....?
Joint and several what? Liability? Not in this case...we're talking pure, plain old negligence here, and the concept of joint and several liability would not apply in this situation.
"Joint and Several Liability is defined as follows:
"A legal obligation under which a party may be liable for the payment of the total judgement and costs that are associated with that judgement, even if that party is only partially responsible for losses inflicted, whether bodily injury and/or property damage."
While I understand where this thought may have originated, I do not see this being the case here. The OP stated that the other party had assumed liability for the loss fully, meaning there should be no liability on the part of the OPs situation. Wikipedia has a really good definition for this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_and_several_liability
Check it out!
InsTeacher 8)
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