Most car accident lawsuits focus on the driver behind the wheel. While the driver might be liable for the accident, there are other parties against whom you can file a personal injury lawsuit. These circumstances come into play in cases where you need someone with a larger budget to pay for additional damages, such as property damage, and not just medical bills and loss of wages. In this article, we will look at other parties who might be blamed for a car accident.
Civil Suits Against the Driver’s Employer
A civil suit can be brought against an employer when a driver is deemed to be acting on behalf of their employer or is the employer’s agent. In such cases, the driver’s negligence is seen as the company’s or employer’s negligence.
These cases depend on the plaintiff proving that the driver was acting on behalf of their employer when they got into an accident with a company car. If they were running a personal errand, for example, they will be personally liable. These exceptions apply to any case where a driver or employee was using the car to carry out tasks that are not directly tied to their employment or employee responsibilities.
Vehicle Manufacturer
Some accidents happen due to defective vehicles, where there is no fault on the driver’s end. In these cases, the vehicle manufacturer is held responsible and can be sued for compensation. A driver is supposed to file a product liability lawsuit against the vehicle’s manufacturer.
Suing the Vehicle’s Owner
A lot of people do not know that they can sue a vehicle’s owner even when they were not the ones driving the car. If a vehicle owner lends someone their car and they get into an accident in Michigan, the vehicle’s owner can be held responsible if the driver was irresponsible or already has citations for drunk driving.
Another case is where the owner might not have maintained their car properly. Because of this, their car should never have been on the road to begin with. Therefore, the accident is deemed their fault for neglecting to do regular maintenance on their car.
The Government
It is rare for drivers involved in car accidents to sue the government, but it happens. These lawsuits often hinge on poor road maintenance and they are usually more challenging because the plaintiff has to prove that the government neglected to do the necessary repairs or maintenance work.
These types of lawsuits are getting increasingly common in countries where the local government does not maintain roads, which is within their purview. These lawsuits are also possible where repairs on a section of a road were not done properly or there was no adequate signage on the road.
Do note that these lawsuits can take longer, have a shorter statute of limitation, and there is a cap on the amount you can receive from the government.
There are cases where an individual may decide to sue someone who can cater to all the damage caused by a car accident. There are lots of people or parties that can be sued, but the individual has to prove that the defendant is at direct fault for the accident. Otherwise, the case will be thrown out.
