THE common misconception is that car insurance follows the driver. In reality, car insurance follows the vehicle.
Under the “permissive use statute,” this means if you give another driver permission to take your vehicle, they will be covered by your car’s insurance policy. In other words, your own policy provides the primary coverage, not the driver’s insurance policy.
As an example, if you loan your car, social media outlets are one major area that the insurance companies try to take advantage of you. If you loan your car to your friend who is not excluded from your policy, your car insurance is the primary coverage that would apply if a crash occurred. Your friend’s insurance would act as secondary or excess insurance if the damages exceed your policy limits.
If a potential client is injured in an accident where the responsible driver is either without insurance (uninsured) or underinsured, it is important that you investigate all possible methods of obtaining the full extent of compensation for your client. When the at-fault driver is not the owner of the vehicle, your attorney should explore the potential course and scope of employment and negligent entrustment (discussed in a previous column) theories against the driver.
If these theories of liability cannot be supported by sufficient facts, your attorney must investigate all the facts of your case which may be able to support a theory based under the California Vehicle Code’s “permissive use statute.” This theory may only provide a limited claim against the vehicle owner, but a limited claim is better than no claim at all.
Bottom line is that understanding who may be responsible is the key to maximizing recovery for the client’s injuries in an automobile accident.
At the Law Offices of Tavakoli & Associates, we take every step to make sure we MAXIMIZE your recovery.
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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If you have further questions, an experienced Injury Lawyer at the Law Offices of Tavakoli & Associates will be able to help you navigate the issues and provide you with the aggressive representation you need and deserve.
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