Who Can I Sue if I Was Hit by an Uninsured Motorist Driving Someone Else’s Car?


Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.

“I was involved in a car accident where the other driver was at fault for not yielding the right of way on a left turn.  The driver has no driver’s license and there is no insurance on the vehicle.  The driver is not the owner of the vehicle.  I am planning on taking this to small claims courts because unfortunately I do not have uninsured motorist coverage.  Can I sue both the driver and the owner of the vehicle?  And can I only sue for damages on the car or can I sue for the time off work it is going to take me to get estimates plus time needed to file and go to court?”

First, you should consult an attorney in your area.  Laws in this area vary greatly and many of these questions will be addressed directly by a law or statute; and an attorney familiar with this area will be in the best position to answer your questions.

Generally, you can sue both the driver and the owner.  You may have a cause of action against the driver for negligence and a negligent entrustment cause of action against the owner if you can show that the owner knew or should have known of the driver’s poor driving history.  This assumes the driver did in fact have a poor history though.  As for damages, generally you can recover compensatory damages, or an amount of money to put you in the position you would’ve been had the accident not occurred.  Potentially this could include the cost of the estimates and potentially any lost wages that you can directly attribute to the accident.

Again, you should consult an attorney because statutes in this area of law tend to give very exact answers to the questions you are asking (i.e., the law will likely tell you exactly who you can sue and what damages you may be able to collect.)