Can You Sue the Parents of a Teen Driver Who Caused Your Oregon Car Accident?

If you are injured in a car accident caused by a negligent driver, Oregon law allows you to file a personal injury claim to recover your losses. But suppose your accident was caused by a reckless teenage driver operating their parents’ car. Could you sue the parents for causing your accident? The answer to that question is complicated and depends on a number of factors. Below is a brief overview of how the law generally treats such cases.

Auto Insurance

Let’s start with the basics. Obviously, if a teenager is driving their parent’s car, it is likely the parent has auto insurance on the vehicle as that is a requirement of Oregon law. Indeed, even if the teenager owns their vehicle, they should also have insurance coverage. And as Oregon is a fault-based state, the negligent driver’s applicable auto insurance coverage is always available to victims of an accident.

Negligent Entrustment

Unfortunately, auto insurance is often not enough to cover serious injuries arising from a car accident. This brings us back to the initial question of could you sue a teenage driver’s parents directly for damages. One possible answer is that the parent who owns a vehicle may be liable under the theory of “negligent entrustment.”

The idea behind negligent entrustment is that the owner of a vehicle knowingly allows someone they know to be a reckless or dangerous driver to use said vehicle. For example, say a parent knows their child has already caused multiple previous accidents and still gives them their car keys. If the teenager goes on to cause yet another accident, the victims would have a viable claim for negligent entrustment. Similarly, if a parent knows their teenager is reckless and does not take reasonable steps to stop them from taking the car–e.g., the parent leaves their keys on the kitchen table for the teenager to take–that may also support a negligent entrustment claim.

The Family Purpose Doctrine

When an Oregon employer allows an employee to use a company-owned vehicle, that employer can be held vicariously liable if the employee causes a car accident while performing a task within the scope of their employment. There is a similar rule in Oregon that can apply to certain situations involving a teenager driving a parent’s car. This is known as the “family purpose doctrine.”

This rule provides that if the owner of a car maintains the vehicle for the “pleasure and convenience of his family,” said owner can be held liable if a family member who does so negligently causes an accident. As with negligent entrustment, the family purpose doctrine requires proof that the teenager used the car with the knowledge and consent of the parent. Where the family purpose doctrine differs is that the law effectively creates a “fictitious agency relationship” to impose vicarious liability for the teenager’s negligence, as opposed to holding the parent liable for their own negligence in entrusting their child with their vehicle.  However, the existence of this claim does not always equal increased compensation, and the personal injury lawyer will need to examine insurance coverage and other issues in order to determine the methods they can use to recover the maximum amount of compensation for their client.

Contact a Portland Car Accident Lawyer Today

Determining everyone who may be responsible for a motor vehicle accident under Oregon law often requires careful investigation. Our Portland car accident attorneys can assist you in this area. Contact Rosenbaum Law Group, PC, today at 503-288-8000 to schedule a free consultation.