What To Do When a Teenager Does Not Have a Driver’s License

You get injured in an automobile accident with a young teen that doesn’t look old enough to drive. You are pretty sure they aren’t old enough.

You’re proven correct when it comes back to you that the teenager does not have a driver’s license. This fact makes you angry and you wonder what you can do about the injuries you’ve sustained.

The first thing you think about is calling a lawyer. You want to take a look at your options to see what is available. You figure it can’t hurt to do so. You are correct in that assumption as well.

You find out about the negligent entrustment tort in North Carolina law. This tort makes it easy for you to file a claim to recover the damages you receive from the wreck.

You discover that the parents are liable for the damages you’re owed because the parents own the car. That makes sense to you and makes you all the more eager to get the money you deserve.

Let’s take a deeper look at negligent entrustment to see what all it involves. Let’s find out more about the depths of the tort and what you can get from a tort claim.

Definition

This is a tort law that says the person taking care of you gave you something that could harm you. Because of that, the law holds that person liable for your injury from that object.

Because they gave you this object, they are responsible for your injury or death. They are responsible for any bills stemming from your injury, including hospital bills.

More than likely, this person knows that the object could cause you harm. They gave it to you anyway in spite of this fact. Examples include firearms, keys to a vehicle, illegal drugs, and explosives.

Negligent Entrustment of a Motor Vehicle

Lawsuits for negligent entrustment are all handled in civil court. If there is a car accident, the legal system will look at each person responsible for the wreck.

If a parent gives the keys to a car to their child, knowing they are drunk or impaired, they are responsible for it. If the child gets into a wreck, the parents are liable for damages or injuries.

The injured person may recover damages suffered from the owner of that vehicle. The injured person would be able to do this through a tort claim of negligent entrustment.

Negligent Entrustment for Employees

When employees get into a wreck, the injured person can recover damages from the employer. This happens through negligent entrustment tort claims.

This can happen if the employer knew about the employee’s driving record. They lent them a company car anyway and this makes the employer liable for injuries in the wreck.

Employers will find the driving record through a background check if they took the time to do one. In today’s society, most employers do that background check.

Negligent entrustment also applies to any reckless behavior an employee involves themselves in. This is a reason employers should use background checks to check for this behavior.

Greenville, NC Personal Injury Attorneys

I’m Brian Ricci, a Personal Injury Lawyer in Greenville, NC. If you have suffered a personal injury, please call me anytime at (252) 777-2222 or 1-800-387-6406 for free, friendly advice. Let’s go over the details of your accident case over the phone and see how best to proceed. The call is free and there is no obligation to you.

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