It goes without saying that a number of concerns accompany a car accident in Louisiana. You may have to worry about recovering from injuries (and paying for the resulting medical bills) as well as covering vehicle repair costs. The last thing you may want to worry about is pursuing a liability claim against the driver that caused your accident.
Such is the same opinion of many of those that come to see us here at The Townsley Law Firm. This likely results from the assumption that auto insurance coverage will meet all those expenses. Yet what if the compensation coming from them is not enough? You may then look to hold the driver legally liable, yet what happens if you discover they were not in their own vehicle?
What is negligent entrustment?
Beyond that, should you learn the driver had a poor driving history, you may question why a vehicle owner would entrust them with their car (and if such an action would open the owner up to liability, as well). Per the International Risk Management Institute, the legal principle of negligent entrustment allows you to assign vicarious liability to a vehicle owner in such a scenario.
Louisiana’s negligent entrustment elements
Yet simply because the driver that hit you was not in their own vehicle at the time may not necessarily mean that negligent entrustment applies to your case. Rather, your case must meet the elements established by the state. These include:
- The driver demonstrating recklessness, incompetence or inexperience
- The vehicle owner knowing of this potential
- The owner still knowingly entrusting the vehicle to the driver
- The driver’s actions presenting a readily-apparent risk to you and other motorists
- Those actions actually causing your accident
You can find more information on assigning liability for a car accident by continuing to explore our site.
