If you are driving a borrowed car and get injured in a collision caused by someone else, you may have questions about who is responsible for the costs of your medical bills and other losses.
Several insurance policies may provide coverage of your losses, depending on the specifics of the accident and how the policies are written. A knowledgeable Kentucky car accident lawyer lawyer can help you evaluate the coverage options and submit a claim to the appropriate insurers.
If an auto insurer is disputing your claim because you were driving a borrowed car with the owner’s permission, contact our car accident attorneys at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer in Lexington, Kentucky. We’ll answer your questions and discuss your legal options free of charge. We have offices in Lexington and across Kentucky.
What Auto Insurance Coverage Applies to You in a Borrowed Car?
If you or a familiar get injured in a collision while driving a borrowed car, and you have Personal Injury Protection coverage, your PIP policy might provide coverage of your initial medical bills up to the policy limits, regardless of who was at fault. The PIP policy, if you have one, should provide up to $10,000 in car accident medical expenses per person, whether you are driving your own vehicle or a borrowed car.
The personal injury protection insurance held by the owner of the car you borrowed may also provide medical benefits after a collision if you do not have your own PIP policy.
Who Pays After an Accident — or Whose Policy Covers What?
Car owners in Kentucky are required to maintain liability coverage on their motor vehicles. If another driver injures you in a collision, the at-fault driver’s liability insurance should cover your losses, including your medical bills, regardless of whether you were driving a borrowed car or your own vehicle.
Kentucky requires automobile owners to have, at a minimum, the following amounts of auto liability coverage:
- $25,000 for all claims for bodily injury damages sustained by any one person
- $50,000 for all bodily injury damages sustained by all persons as a result of an accident
- $25,000 for all property damage as a result of any one accident.
Most car owners in Kentucky carry the minimum required amounts of auto insurance.
If another driver was at fault for the car accident and you sustained significant injuries, the at-fault driver’s auto liability insurance should cover your medical bills and loss of income.
If the at-fault driver’s insurance denies the injury claim you submitted, you may need to file a personal injury lawsuit to demand financial accountability. Kentucky allows people injured in collisions to sue the at-fault driver if they sustained injuries that meet any of the following thresholds:
- Medical expenses of more than $1,000
- A bone fracture
- Disfiguring injuries
- Permanent injury
- Death of a family member
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Kentucky requires automobile owners to maintain auto liability insurance, but some disregard the law or let their auto insurance policy lapse.
If the at-fault driver who injured you was driving uninsured, you may file a claim with the uninsured motorist (UM) policy on the vehicle you borrowed.
UM coverage provides coverage if an uninsured motorist injures you or a hit-and-run driver. UM coverage is automatically included in auto insurance policies written in Kentucky unless the vehicle owner specifically declined it.
How Our Attorneys Can Help You?
Recovering an insurance payment after an accident involving a borrowed car can get complicated. Multiple policies get classified as “primary” or “secondary” coverage. The insurance companies may begin to point fingers, directing you to get a payment from the other company.
In Kentucky, a car accident attorney with Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you seek accountability if another driver injured you while you were driving a borrowed car. We have years of experience investigating car accidents and sorting out liability issues. We are known for our Kentucky Courage and are unafraid to stand up to insurance companies.
The Permission Factor: Authorized vs. Unauthorized Drivers and Implied Consent
If you were injured in a car crash and the at-fault driver was driving a borrowed car, the insurance adjusters would seek to determine if the at-fault driver had the owner’s permission to borrow the car. The insurance might try to deny liability for the accident if the at-fault driver was driving without the owner’s permission and caused a crash. This includes cases of a friend “borrowing without asking” and vehicle theft. But the question could become one of implied consent.
The driver who caused a crash while driving a borrowed car might reflexively tell the police they had the owner’s permission to drive the car. They might say they drive the car all the time, which, if true, might indicate implied consent. Our attorney would seek to hold the insurance company of the vehicle owner financially accountable in situations of implied consent.
Negligent Entrustment: Lending Your Car to Unfit Drivers
If you were injured in a crash caused by someone driving a borrowed car who should not have been driving, the car owner might have acted negligently by entrusting the car to someone who had no business being behind the wheel, such as someone:
- Impaired by alcohol or drugs
- Too young to drive legally
- Whose license has been suspended or revoked
In this situation, the negligent vehicle owner may be financially accountable for your medical bills and other losses. As your personal injury attorney, Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer would seek to demonstrate that the vehicle owner who lent their car to an unfit driver was financially liable for negligent entrustment.
Talk to an Experienced Car Accident Attorney Today
Car accidents and insurance claims can be complicated and costly, especially if the claim involves a driver in a borrowed car. A car accident attorney with Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help determine who should be financially accountable and demand that insurers treat you fairly in any accident claim involving your vehicle. Don’t let an insurance company push you around.
Our legal team has been helping hardworking Kentuckians demand justice after car accidents for decades. We’ll look at your case from every angle to explore avenues of compensation for you. Contact us now for your free consultation.
