QUESTION
Can I be held legally liable for damages to my friends car after crashing my friends uninsured car with him in the passenger seat.
Asked on Jun 01st, 2015 on Civil Litigation - Washington
More details to this question:
On new years 2 years ago, my friend and I went out drinking. The following morning we were still drunk and my friend had me drive his car with him in the passenger seat. I ended up getting into an accident and he ended up not having insurance on the car. I got a dui in the end. My insurance covered the medical bills and damage to the other cars. My questions is can I legally be held responsible for the damages to my friends car, even though he didnt have any insurance on his car and didn't tell me, and let me drive his car drunk?
1 ANSWER
Yes. Your friend may be comparatively negligent to some degree, but you are partially responsible as well and liable to that extent. There are slightly different systems in different states, but it generally works as follows: If a jury finds that you are 75% responsible and your friend 25% responsible, you would be liable for 75% of the damages. In some states, if your friend was found more than 50% responsible, he/she couldn't collect anything; in others you would each remain liable pro rata.
FYI, if your friend had had insurance on the car, and if the insurance company had covered the damage (I have my doubts), it would have sued you to recover what it paid out.
Answered on Jun 03rd, 2015 at 1:18 PM