The Harper Law Blog
The Harper Law Blog offers news, announcements, thoughts and articles on life, law and our practice areas of emphasis.
Am I subject to liability if I co-sign on an automobile?
Posted Tuesday, January 10, 2012 by Ed Harper.
I’m often asked if a co-signer, usually a parent is responsible for damages if my child gets in a crash. Briefly, the answer is: it depends.
More specifically, by being a co-signer, does not provide clear cut liability for any injured person to bring in the parent and collect against their assets. Mere ownership is not enough to be successful. I would need more background to give a more clear response, but a parent’s responsibility would basically rest on two areas:
1.Liability for negligent entrustment – Did the parent exercise any control over the method of operating the vehicle or how it was used? In other words, did they set up some type of limits on the child using the car. And if so, did the child have some history of bad driving which could have alerted and given them reason to take away the privileges. Or did the parent look the other way and continue to give the child the keys to the car, no questions asked? These types of questions would be considered in determining liability.
2.Liability under the Family Car Doctrine – Washington adheres to the Family Car Doctrine, also known as the Family Purpose Doctrine – which holds that a family member can be found liable for the negligence of another merely by ownership of a vehicle and granting permissive use to a minor child or even an adult child. There are certain requirements which support this theory – but have to do with four (4) specific criteria.
See my prior blog posts under Family Car Liability – but here are the four criteria the courts would consider:
1. The car is owned, provided or maintained by the parent;
2. For the customary conveyance of family members and other family business;
3. And at the time of the accident the car is being driven by a member of the family for whom the car is maintained, and,
4. With the express or implied consent of the parent.
Cameron v. Downs, 32 Wn.App. 875, 650 P.2d 260 (1962).
My opinion on co-signing – don’t do it. A gift, with no strings attached is better method of giving to your loved ones, and there will be less entangling alliances as a result which could pull you into court. Call or e mail me any questions you may have. Harper Law PLLC
Contesting a ticket under RCW 46.61.050
Posted Wednesday, July 27, 2011 by Ed Harper.
I was recently asked if a driver has been cited for turning right on a red light, should the ticket be contested. My answer was in most cases yes, depending on the circumstances. The prosecutor must provide you with discovery and follow all the applicable procedures in order to get the case before a judge. At that point you can provide the judge with evidence (witnesses, your testimony, photographs, diagrams, etc.) to counter-act what the prosecutor comes up with.
Often the prosecutor will negotiate with you and offer you a non-moving violation ticket which does not go on your driving record. The 46.61.050 is a violation that ends up on your record and could have a detrimental effect on your insurance rates. Hope this works out well for you.
Vehicles Principally Garaged definition
Posted Tuesday, June 28, 2011 by Ed Harper.
Some cases have articulated this to mean what was the parties intention regarding the actual location of the vehicle in the state. If the insured intends to keep the vehicle in another state during the policy period, and does keep the vehicle in another state, the policy likely should be written for that particular state. The courts have also looked to the primary location for the vehicle, not the the location of the vehicle at the time of the origination of the policy.
Insurance laws in the State of Washington may be more advantageous to a claimant
Some examples included: Washington requires personal injury protection to be offered for at the minimum limits of $10,000 unless a signed waiver is produced. Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage must be the equivalent of the liability limits for the insured person unless a signed waiver is produced. The Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverages stack on top of the at-fault driver’s insurance, thus providing the maximum benefit possible.
Benefits to a claimant for UIM coverages to stack on top of third-party claims
Recently, we were able to obtain the UIM limits for a Washington resident who was driving his girlfriend’s vehicle which was registered in Oregon and insured as if the vehicle was in Oregon. We pursued the claim against the insurance company and made the claim under Washington Law. This allowed us to obtain the mandatory minimum UIM limits of $25,000 under Washington Law as this vehicle had been garaged here for more than 2 1/2 years. If the insurance company had been allowed to, they would have denied the claim as under the Oregon policy, the UIM limits disappear if not greater than the underlying third-party limits.
Insurance Fair Conduct Act of Washington – “IFCA”
IFCA allows a first-party claimant to bring a cause of action against his or her insurance company for unfair insurance claims practices. The insured may bring an action in the superior court of this state to recover the actual damage sustained, together with the costs of the action, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation costs. Treble damages may also be provided to increase the total award of damages to an amount not to exceed three times the actual damages.
Additional Resources
RCW 48.22.030
RCW 48.30.015
WAC 284-30-330
Thiringer v. American Motors Ins. Co. 91 Wn.2d 215
Blair v. State Farm 269 Neb. 874
Chalef v. Ryerson 277 N.J.Super. 22
Negligence in items flying off a truck or running over a loose item in the road
Posted Friday, June 24, 2011 by Ed Harper.
In order to recover against another driver you typically have to prove negligence on their part. This requires you to prove they failed to act reasonably under the circumstances and this failure caused you to be injured or sustain some type of damage. Hopefully you will be able to prove what the item was coming off of the truck. Merely running over something would not likely be recoverable in my opinion, unless you can prove they acted unreasonably (see above).
In the State of Washington, one must tie down their loads placed in the back of a truck. Recently, there was a prominent case against U-haul and a driver for failing to secure a load which flew off the trailer and permanently injured a young woman causing her to be blinded. Shortly thereafter the State Legislature enacted tougher standards for the securing of loads.
Workers Compensation questions and potential Employer liability
Posted Friday, June 24, 2011 by Ed Harper.
If you injured while working as an employee of another, and the employer has workers compensation coverage (call Labor and Industries in State of WA) you should be able to recover for your losses. You cannot sue your employer however as a result. This type of insurance coverage was enacted to protect employees whether or not they or their employers were negligent.
If one is an employee or an independent contractor is often litigated in court cases. You can recover from an employer for an employees actions, but not usually when an independent contractor is negligent. To determine if one is an actual employee vs. an independent contract relates to what is called an agency-principal relationship that may have been in place between you (agent) and your employer (principal). You should connect with an attorney as soon as practical in order to protect your interests. Your employer should have a liability policy in place which would be responsible for defending them and you for your potentially negligent conduct.
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