Responsibility For Accidents Caused By Teen Drivers

There are 18,000 teen drivers in California that are injured or killed from automobile accidents each year and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that the statistics on teen driving is rather disturbing, with teens nine times more likely to be involved in a vehicle accident than adults twenty five years old or older. When teens are involved in an automobile accident, most of the time it works exactly the same as if you were involved in a car accident with an adult, with insurance companies assessing damages and paying if liable, but there are exceptions, where the parents may be held liable for the driving of their children.

One common occurrence of this is when the parent is allowing the teenager to drive unsupervised on a learner's permit or other conditional driving license that allows them to drive only when an adult is in the car with them. If parents allow their teenagers to drive by themselves on a conditional license that requires someone else to be in the car, they could be potentially liable for the actions of that child, if they are involved in a car accident, because it is the parent's responsibility to ensure that their child is driving with a licensed adult driver.

Another example of when the parent might be liable for the actions of their child in a car accident is when they knowingly or unknowingly allow their child to get behind the wheel intoxicated, or provide easy access to alcohol, where the child can get drunk at home and then get into a car, causing an accident. At times, the parents can be found liable for failing to prevent the accident, because they allowed their children access to alcohol in their home. Each case is different so talk to a drunk driving attorney to find out if the parents might be liable in your case.

If the parent knowingly allowed their child to operate a motor vehicle, knowing that their child drives recklessly or is not yet a competent driver, they may be responsible for the expenses incurred after a car accident. It is the responsibility of the parent to know when their child is ready to drive, and to take steps to correct the bad driving, or restrict the teenager from driving until they are competent behind the wheel. Again, this will take into consideration many factors and an attorney is best equipped to determine and prove this liability.

There are other factors that can determine whether or not a parent is liable for the accident between you and a teenager and if you have been involved in a collision of this type you should contact attorney Emery Brett Ledger, who is a qualified car accident attorney and has over ten years of experience dealing with cases just like yours. You may be entitled to compensation if you were hit by a teen driver including medical, repair bills and ongoing medical treatment as well as potential punitive damages if the parent is found to be liable for their teen's driving.