Possible People You Can Sue for a Vehicle Accident

If you’ve been in a car accident, you might be wondering who you can actually hold responsible. The truth is, depending on how the crash happened, there are a lot of different people or companies who might legally be on the hook.

By the way, if you even think you might want to file a lawsuit later, do not skip the accident report. Police reports are basically the starting point for any legal action. You do not want to miss out on the importance of vehicle accident reports, as that can crucially hurt your case.

Now, back to liability. Here are the possible parties that you can sue after your car accident:

Suing the At-Fault Driver

If the other driver caused the accident by doing something careless like speeding, texting while driving, or running a red light, then you can sue them for damages. This can include things like your medical bills, missed work, car repairs, or the cost of therapy and ongoing treatment.

In some situations, the driver might not be the same person as the car’s owner. That’s okay; you can still sue the actual driver, regardless of whose name is on the title. As long as they were behind the wheel and caused the crash, they’re fair game.

Suing the Owner of the Car

Even if the owner wasn’t in the car when it crashed, they might still be legally responsible.

This can happen when the owner lets someone else use the car, especially if they knew the person is a bad driver, has no license, was intoxicated, or had a history of reckless driving.

There’s also negligent entrustment, which basically means the car owner handed over the keys to someone they shouldn’t have trusted. In that case, the law can hold the owner accountable, too, not just the driver.

Suing a Commercial Business or Employer

When a crash involves a commercial vehicle, e.g., a delivery van, rideshare car, or company truck, the business that owns that vehicle can sometimes be sued too. If the driver was working at the time of the accident, then their employer might be responsible for the damage they caused.

This is especially true when the employer was careless about who they hired, didn’t train them properly, or didn’t maintain the vehicle.

Suing Your Own Insurance Company

This might sound weird, but yes, sometimes, you may end up going after your own insurer. This usually happens when the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance or has way too little to cover your losses. In Massachusetts, your own auto policy should have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage for situations like that.

You can’t exactly sue your own insurance for these benefits, but if they delay or refuse to pay what they owe, you can take them to arbitration. That’s like a court process but handled privately.

Just make sure you keep all communication with your insurer organized, and don’t sign anything you don’t understand.

Suing a Rideshare Company

Rideshare accidents are tricky. Companies like Uber and Lyft treat their drivers as independent contractors, which makes it harder to sue the company directly. But there are situations where the rideshare company could still be responsible.

For example, if they knew a driver had a bad record and still let them work, or if the app itself caused distractions during the ride.

A key factor here is whether the driver was in service when the crash happened. If they were on their way to pick someone up or already had a passenger, the company’s insurance might kick in, and it’s usually a lot, sometimes up to $1 million in coverage. If they were off-duty, though, it gets more complicated.

Suing a Government Entity or Road Maintenance Crew

If the crash happened because of a pothole, missing traffic sign, broken streetlight, or another poor road condition, you might be able to sue the city, town, or state agency in charge. But these cases are tough.

You have to prove that the government either knew about the issue and ignored it or that they should have known and still didn’t fix it. You also have very little time to file, sometimes only a few months, so if you think the government might be responsible, don’t wait to start the process.

Suing an Auto Repair Shop

Let’s say your brakes were supposed to be fixed, but the mechanic didn’t do the job right, and that’s what caused your accident. If a repair shop fails to fix your vehicle properly and that failure leads to a crash, the shop could be responsible.

This includes situations where they installed the wrong part, skipped safety checks, or did a repair job that didn’t meet professional standards.

When you take your car in for service, the shop has a legal duty to make sure it’s safe before returning it to you. If they don’t, and someone gets hurt, they can be held accountable.