If you run a stop sign and hit a pedestrian while driving your own car, you know that you will be held liable for the pedestrian’s injuries. But what if you lend your car to your friend — and your friend makes that same mistake?
When it comes to borrowed car accidents in Florida, liability is much less clear. Still, as the owner of the vehicle, you could be held responsible for injuries and property damage caused by the person behind the wheel.
It makes sense that if you lend your car to someone you know will pose a danger to others, you may face legal repercussions. But in some cases, you can still be held liable even if you had no reason to believe that the driver would put others at risk.
Fortunately, this situation is not common. Your car insurance provider will typically provide coverage if you lend your car to a friend and that friend causes an accident. That’s because in Florida, insurance policies typically follow the car — not the driver.
Before lending your car to anyone, you should make sure you fully understand how liability works when the person who causes a car accident does not own the vehicle.
Many people believe that in borrowed car accidents in Florida, the driver alone is considered to be responsible. However, Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine means that both the vehicle owner and the driver may be liable in the event of an accident. Florida is the only state with this doctrine.
The dangerous instrumentality doctrine is sometimes referred to as “vicarious liability,” although it is more expansive than most states’ vicarious liability laws. This doctrine is founded on the belief that some items — including cars — are so dangerous that the owner should not completely avoid legal responsibility if the item causes harm to others.
Cars are not the only items covered under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. Some types of heavy machinery and appliances are included, as are firearms.
In Florida, if you hand over a gun to a friend and they commit murder, you can be held responsible for the murder along with your friend. The law works the same way when it comes to motor vehicles.
However, there are some exceptions to the dangerous instrumentality doctrine.
When you bring your car into a shop for repairs, you don’t get to choose which employees drive your vehicle. That’s why the shop rule exists: to absolve vehicle owners of any liability for harm caused by repair shop employees and those in similar professions.
As long as your car is in the care of a service station or body shop, you aren’t responsible for any damage caused by an employee who drives it. Similarly, if you have a valet park your car, you aren’t responsible for any accidents the valet causes while driving it.
If someone steals your car, you should not be held accountable for any accidents they cause.
However, someone may falsely claim their car was stolen to avoid liability. Because of this possibility, you might be required to prove that the individual who stole your car did not have your permission. It may be wise to enlist the help of an attorney in this situation.
Companies that lease and rent cars to customers retain ownership of the vehicles and allow customers to drive them. Under the Graves Amendment, a federal law passed in 2005, these companies are not legally responsible for what drivers do.
However, this does not mean that rental companies are exempt from liability in every situation. If the injured person can prove that there was negligence on the part of the rental company or its agents, the company may be held partially responsible.
Here’s an example. Imagine that a man reserves a rental car online. He goes to the rental office to pick it up, and an employee walks him out to the vehicle. The employee smells alcohol on the man’s breath and observes that he has trouble walking in a straight line.
If the employee allows the man to take the car despite these clear signs of intoxication, the rental company might be held liable for any injuries the man causes in a drunk driving accident.
If you sell a car to someone, it might take a while to transfer the title. This means that the new owner could get into an accident before the car has been officially titled to them. In this case, you would not be held responsible for injuries caused by the new owner.
However, this exception does not apply if you take too long to transfer the title. If you wait several months and the new owner causes an accident in the meantime, you could still be held partially at fault.
For immediate legal assistance from an experienced Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer, contact our legal team today. We offer free consultations and are never too busy to speak with you.
In Florida, auto insurance generally follows the car — not the driver. This is where the permissive use provision comes into play. This provision, which is included in most Florida car insurance policies, states that someone who occasionally uses the car will be covered under the policy.
Under the permissive use provision, if the person who borrowed your car causes an accident, your insurance provider would be responsible for paying for property damage. If the driver has their own insurance policy, their insurer might pay for any damage in excess of what your policy covers.
Generally, if someone borrows your car and causes a crash, you should be prepared to file a claim with your insurance provider. However, an insurer may deny claims for some types of borrowed car accidents in Florida. Here are some examples.
If the person driving your car is not responsible for the accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance provider will pay for property damage. Your insurance company does not have to be involved at all.
One exception is if your friend is injured in the accident. If this happens, your personal injury protection coverage should kick in to pay for their medical expenses.
Permissive use provisions generally cover any family members involved in borrowed car accidents in Florida. However, you can choose to exclude a specific family member from your coverage in writing. If that person drives your car anyway, your insurer is unlikely to pay for any damage they cause.
This situation is a bit different from having your car stolen, so it makes sense that the outcome might be a bit different as well. If a friend or family member uses your vehicle without your permission and crashes it, their insurance provider should pay for any damage first.
However, if the damage exceeds their policy limit, your car insurance coverage would kick in after that.
If someone causes an accident after stealing your car, you are not liable for any injuries or damage they cause. However, you’ll likely be stuck with a damaged vehicle.
Your insurance provider will probably not have to pay for injuries and property damage a car thief causes to others. If you have comprehensive coverage, however, it should pay for your own vehicle repairs or replacement.
When it comes to determining who is liable for a car accident, you might hear two phrases: “negligent entrustment” and “vicarious liability.” These concepts are somewhat similar, but there is an important difference:
Here’s a closer look at the difference between these two concepts and why it matters when it comes to borrowed car accidents in Florida.
Negligent entrustment is just what it sounds like: entrusting your vehicle to someone you knew (or reasonably should have known) would pose a hazard to others.
For example, imagine you have a teenage cousin who has a habit of speeding. He has already totaled one car, and currently, his license is suspended for reckless driving. You know all of this, and yet you allow him to use your car to drive himself to school.
On the way to school, your cousin causes a car crash that seriously injures someone else.
The injured person could try to prove that you negligently entrusted your vehicle to your cousin. Given his driving history — especially the fact that his license is suspended — you should have realized that he posed a risk to other people while behind the wheel.
In many states, vicarious liability primarily applies to cases where the driver of the vehicle is in some way subordinate to the owner. For instance, an employer will often be held vicariously liable for the actions of an employee driving a company vehicle, and a parent may be held liable when they allow their child to drive their car.
However, under Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine, you might be held vicariously liable for damage caused by anyone you allow to drive your car, even if that person is a responsible driver.
Florida is the only state whose vicarious liability laws include a dangerous instrumentality doctrine. Most other states have some type of vicarious liability laws, as in the classic case of an employee who causes an accident in a company vehicle.
Although there are exceptions, employers can be held vicariously liable for employees who cause harm to others. Here are some examples.
When it comes to vicarious liability, the definition of “employee” is broader than you might think. It includes the following:
Employment situations can be complex. If an employee driving a company vehicle has been involved in an accident and you aren’t sure whether your company is vicariously liable, a car accident attorney may be able to help.
If an employee causes an accident while driving a company vehicle, that does not automatically mean that the company is vicariously liable. For vicarious liability to apply, the employee must be acting within the scope of employment. In other words, they must have been performing job-related duties.
For example, if your employee causes a crash while doing a delivery for your company, you could be held liable. However, if the employee causes a crash while driving to a restaurant during their lunch break, you likely would not be liable.
When a company hires someone (especially someone who will be driving a company vehicle), the company has an obligation to make sure they are qualified and won’t pose a risk to others. If it does not, it may be held liable if the employee causes an accident.
For example, suppose that you are the owner of a small catering business. You need a new assistant to help with deliveries and other tasks, so you bring in a candidate for a job interview. You like the candidate and hire them on the spot — without verifying that they have a valid driver’s license.
The new employee goes out in the company van to deliver a catering order and immediately causes a car accident. If they turn out to be unlicensed, you might be held responsible for the damage they cause.
If someone steals your car and gets into an accident, you generally will not be liable for damages they cause. However, the car must be unambiguously stolen. This means that someone who does not have permission to drive your car has taken it without your knowledge or consent.
For example, imagine that you have a roommate who occasionally uses your car. One day, they pick up your keys from the dining room table and drive your car to the store without asking for explicit permission.
If they cause an accident, it would be hard to prove that the car was stolen; your roommate had previously been allowed to use your car and had easy access to your keys.
Because of grey areas like this, proving that your car was stolen can be more complicated than it sounds. To avoid having to deal with questions of liability, make sure you report a car theft as soon as possible.
Florida’s car accident liability laws vary considerably from those of other states. Whether you have questions about borrowed car accidents in Florida or have been badly injured in a car accident yourself, an experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney can help.
At Schilling & Silvers Personal Injury and Car Accident Lawyers, our team is here to help you understand the laws and how they apply to you. If you have been injured in a car accident, contact us today for a free case evaluation.
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Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
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