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Vehicle Accidents

• Drunk Driver Kills Ontario Woman on the San Bernardino Freeway
• Bicycle Safety Equipment Saves Lives and Reduces Serious Injuries
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• Twentynine Palms and Morongo Valley Highway Has Seen Serious Rise in Traffic Accidents in 2009
• Road Conditions in San Bernardino and Riverside Increase Cost for Accidents, Travel and Maintenance

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Vehicle Accidents

• Understanding the rights, duties and obligations of an accident victim is critical when a car accident involves a non-owner driver.
• 2007 and 2008 Ranch Cucamonga Fatal Auto Accidents and Traffic Collisions Cause 21 deaths.

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Understanding the rights, duties and obligations of an accident victim is critical when a car accident involves a non-owner driver.

So let’s talk about the liability of a vehicle owner when someone is using the car with the owner’s permission. There are different rules for different kinds of drivers. An owner can allow another licensed driver to use the car. However, the owner can be responsible for an accident caused by the borrowing driver. Vehicle Code section 17150 provides: "Every owner of a motor vehicle is liable and responsible for death or injury to person or property resulting from a negligent or wrongful act or omission in the operation of the motor vehicle, in the business of the owner or otherwise, by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of the owner." So if a car is lent, then the owner can be held responsible for the accident. This is called “permissive use”.

Permissive users that get in accidents when using someone’s car do not render the owner liable for unlimited damages. There are limitations of liability to the owner of a vehicle for the negligence of the driver of the vehicle in certain circumstances. If the driver is acting for herself when the automobile accident occurs, the owner’s liability is limited to $15,000 for injury or death from an auto accident causing injury to one persons and $30,000 if the accident causes injuries to more than one person. Vehicle Code section 17151(a) provides, in part: "The liability of an owner . . . is limited to the amount of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) for the death of or injury to one person . . . and . . . to the amount of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) for the death of or injury to more than one person “ Also, property damage liability is limited to five thousand dollars ($5,000).

The limitation to permissive use liability does not apply to the own independent negligence of the property owner. Fremont Compensation Insurance Co. v. Hartnett (1993) 19 Cal.App.4th 669, 675-676, 23 Cal.Rptr.2d 567. For example, if the owner of a vehicle lends his vehicle to an unlicensed driver, this act is not only a violation of law [Vehicle Code sec. 14604 (a)] but is also negligence, so the liability limitation does not apply. So before lending a vehicle to another person, the owner “is required only to make a reasonable effort or inquiry to determine whether the prospective driver possesses a valid driver's license before allowing him or her to operate the owner's vehicle.” Vehicle Code sec. 14604 (a). Another example of owner’s independent negligence is a parent allowing an unlicensed child to drive the parent’s vehicle. Vehicle Code sec. 14607.

If you are involved in a car crash accident in California, especially in any city of the Inland Empire, such as Ontario, Upland, Chino, Pomona, Victorville, Fontana, or Rancho Cucamonga, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer at the Inland Empire Law Group to maximize your monetary recovery from an accident with a driver that does not own the car he or she is driving. Otherwise, your recovery is limited.

The Inland Empire Law Group is located in Rancho Cucamonga, California and serves clients in San Bernardino County, Riverside County, and Los Angeles County as well as the following cities: Rancho Cucamonga, Alta Loma, Etiwanda, Fontana, Ontario, Upland, Montclair, Rialto, Victorville, Colton, Norco, San Bernardino, Riverside, Yucipa, Redlands, Bloomington, Chino, Chino Hills, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Adelanto, Barstow, Pomona, Claremont, La Verne, and San Dimas, Glendora, Diamond Bar, Corona, Grand Terrace, Highland, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, Wrightwood, and Moreno Valley.

Inland Empire
Law Group
8600 Utica Avenue
Suite 200
Rancho Cucamonga,
California 91730

(909) 481-0100

FAQs

Vehicle Accidents

• How is my property damage resolved when my car is damaged in a California automobile accident?
• Can you loose your license for drinking, possessing or purchasing alcohol without being in your car?
• When it Comes to California Auto Accidents, What Changes Occur When a Child Turns 18, Becomes an Adult and Causes an Accident?

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