Having to deal with the aftermath of a car accident in Vadnais Heights is always difficult. You may have to cope with injuries and damages to your vehicle, plus the prospect of having to take time away from work to recuperate. Your struggles could then become even more difficult if you later discover that the driver that hit you was not driving their own vehicle.
Why could this be bad news? As many of our past clients here at The Cody Law Group can attest to, this can often mean a few things:
- The driver is new to the road and does not have their own vehicle
- A recent accident has placed the driver’s own vehicle out of commission
- The driver’s poor driving history keeps them from having their own vehicle
Any of these reasons can complicate you receiving the compensation you need. However, the doctrine of negligent entrustment may allow you to hold the vehicle owner responsible.
What is negligent entrustment?
Negligent entrustment assigns liability to vehicle owners when others cause accidents with their vehicles. The whole idea behind this concept is to compel vehicle owners to exercise caution when loaning their cars out to others. Indeed, when ruling on negligent entrustment, Minnesota state courts declare that the “entrustor’s duty runs directly to those who might be put at risk as a result of the negligent entrustment.”
Applying negligent entrustment to your case
Yet the mere fact that the driver that hit you was driving another’s vehicle may not be enough to apply negligent entrustment to your case. You typically must prove that the owner knew (or should have known) of the driver’s limitations and that even knowing that they still allowed them to drive the vehicle anyway.
You can discover more information about assigning liability in your car accident case by continuing to explore our site.