Who will be sued in an underage auto accident? 31 Answers as of May 10, 2011

You can sue you and your daughter as you are the owner of the vehicle. You should contact your insurance company who should defend the case for you.

You can be sued but it really makes little difference who is sued. The only recovery available is from your insurance policy. You cannot be held liable for your daughter's negligence. This is what is referred to as parental immunity and the only exception is for willful, malicious behavior and the limit of liability is $1,000.00 but I do not see this being a problem in your case. The claim against you would be for negligent entrustment. That is, you knew your daughter was a bad driver and let her drive anyway. It is rare this type of claim is successful.

Since your daughter was a minor at the time of the accident, either one of her parents can be sued "as parent and next best friend" of the minor. In either event, the auto insurance policy under which she was covered should appoint defense counsel on your behalf and indemnify you for any judgment obtained, within the policy limits.

The injured party would have the ability to sue both of you - but your insurance will defend you and pay any judgment against both of you. You should turn the matter over to your insurer.

1st in most cases no one is sued, since, your insurance company will settle the claim. The plaintiff will probably sue your daughter and you as the parent. If either of you are sued you need to refer to your insurance company and make sure they defend you.

In NC lawyers usually sue the driver and the owner. The insurance should cover both.

The probable lawsuit is against your daughter. There may be a negligent entrustment theory against you but it is a difficult action to prove and unlikely.

They will sue you and your daughter. You need to check your auto insurance liability limits for property damage and bodily injury. If you do not feel your insurance is sufficient to cover the injured parties damages, then you need to contact an attorney to represent your interests relative to the exposure above your policy limits. The insurance company will defend the claim and provide a lawyer to defend the lawsuit, but they are only responsible to pay the policy limits. So you can have your own counsel involved to try to keep any settlement or verdict below the limits if possible. This is a tricky area of the insurance law, so you need someone familiar with insurance law and personal injury law. I hope this answer helps, and good luck resolving your legal matter.

If I was representing the injured person, I would sue both your daughter as the driver/negligent person, and you as the owner of the vehicle. In Florida, we have a doctrine called dangerous instrumentality, and the owner of a vehicle is just as liable as the driver as long as the driver had the permission of the owner to use the SUV. Your insurance on your vehicle will cover both of you, and your insurance company will provide you with a defense if you are both sued. I would ask the insurance adjuster to keep you in the loop and try to get your adjuster to settle the case so you and your daughter don't get sued.

Both the driver and vehicle owner would be defendants in the lawsuit. Your daughter would be sued for her negligent operation of the vehicle. You would be named as a defendant as the vehicle owner, because there is a legal presumption that the driver was an agent of the vehicle owner at the time of the accident. You would be dismissed from the case if there was no proof of agency. Nevertheless, if you and/or your daughter were sued, your insurance company would hire a lawyer (many of them now have lawyers as employees, and make them appear as a private law firm), to handle the litigation. If you haven't done so already, report this to your insurance company, which your insurance contract most likely requires you to do, and let them handle it.

The injured driver can sue your daughter, you, or both. If suit is filed, be sure to tell your insurance company immediately.

Regardless of who she sues, if you have liability insurance, your insurer will hire an attorney to defend the suit, and will pay damages up to the policy limits. Normally, you daughter will be sued as the at fault driver. You might also be sued if your daughter lives with you based on a law known as the Family Purpose Doctrine.

The Family Purpose Doctrine provides that a vehicle owner is liable for the negligence of a household member who Is driving a car that the owner provides for household members for convenience of the household.

The good news for you is that your insurer will pay for any damages up to the policy limits, and mot Plaintiffs/claimants are willing to settle for the policy limits.

Since you are the owner of the SUV, both you and your daughter can be sued for the accident. The claim falls under something called the family purpose doctrine. Regardless, the same insurance policy applies, no matter who ultimately is sued. You should report any information on the matter to your insurance carrier as soon as you receive it.

She would sue both of you. As the owner of the car, you are liable for a maximum of $20,000 (I believe its $15,000 for injury and $5,000 for property damage). Your daughter can be sued for the full amount of all damage. Hopefully, you have sufficient insurance and they will cover both of you.

She would sue you both. Since you own the car, they would sue you for negligent entrustment and her for negligence. They might throw in some other counts also. If you have insurance, notify your insurance company. If not, talk to an attorney.

The owner and operator of a vehicle is liable for injuries.

The injured driver will probably sue both of you. Your daughter is liable as the "at fault" driver. You would be liable under a concept referred to as the "family car doctrine." Both of you will be insured for this through your insurance company. So if you haven't already, make sure that the accident has been reported to your insurance company.

If you are insured you should turn the information over to your insurance carrier. In the event that they do not settle the claim they can sue you but your insurance company is obligated to defend the action for you. You may want to discuss this with an attorney who can provide you with some information/guidance as to how to proceed. Good luck.

She would sue your daughter. However, because your daughter is covered under your insurance, the insurance company should step in and defend the suit, and pay whatever settlement or judgment comes from it.