You likely understand that you assume some level of risk every time you take to Asheville’s roads in your own vehicle. Like most, however, you probably assume that the others on the road around care as much about staying safe as you do.
Yet what happens when that is not the case? Such has been the discovery of many of our past clients here at Nielsen Legal. What might be even more shocking than encountering a blatantly reckless driver on the road, though, is learning that another actually trusted such a person with their car.
Defining “negligent entrustment”
After you learn this after suffering a car accident yourself, you might rightly question whether it is possible to also hold the vehicle owner legally responsible for your accident expenses. The principle of negligent entrustment allows you to do just that. Basically this philosophy states that a vehicle owner should share in the liability for a car accident when another causes such an accident with their car, truck or SUV. Indeed, local state court rulings have confirmed the North Carolina’s adherence to this principle, citing past car accidents and/or moving violations as evident proof of a driver’s incompetence.
Proving what a vehicle owner might have known
You need to present such proof when citing negligent entrustment in your car accident case, for if the owner of the vehicle that caused your accident did not know of the driver’s shortcomings, they may have an argument that they should not be liable. You also must show that an express or implied entrustment occurred, as case where a driver used a vehicle without permission would not fall under negligent entrustment.
You can learn more about assigning liability following a car accident by continuing to explore our site.