So, you allow a friend or family member to drive your car.  This person is involved in an accident with your car and there are personal injuries involved.  It is determined that the person you allowed to drive your car was at fault for the collision.  You are upset about the property damage to your vehicle, and this is the end of your worries, right?  Not so fast my friend.

Many people are surprised to find out that in Florida when your name appears on the title of a motor vehicle as the owner, or as a co-owner, you subject yourself to legal liability if someone operating that motor vehicle with permission causes injuries to another person as a result of such permissive use.   Liability means that you, along with the driver and any other title owners of the motor vehicle, can be sued personally in court for damages incurred by the person(s) injured due to the fault of the driver.  This is what is known as the “dangerous instrumentality doctrine.”

Adopted in 1920 by the Florida Supreme Court, the dangerous instrumentality doctrine imposes strict liability upon the owner of a motor vehicle who voluntarily entrusts that motor vehicle to an individual whose negligent operation causes damage to another.  This type of “strict” liability means that it doesn’t matter that you were not driving the car nor had anything to do with causing the accident.  This liability is based on the theory that the person who allowed another person to operate their motor vehicle is in the best position to ensure that there will be adequate resources with which to pay an injured victim.  You may or may not agree with this theory, but it is the law in Florida, and you must take steps to protect yourself.

So how do you protect yourself from the dangerous instrumentality doctrine?  You must immediately inform your insurance company (or your insurance agent if you have one) of all motor vehicles in which you have an ownership interest. Bodily injury liability insurance is the product that will protect your personal assets. You must confirm that you have adequate bodily injury liability insurance for that motor vehicle.  What is “adequate” is based on your personal situation and should be discussed with your insurance company or agent.

It is also important to point that the dangerous instrumentality doctrine extends to motor vehicles where you appear on the title only because you helped someone with the purchase and financing of the vehicle.  There is a court case in Florida where an aunt helped her nephew like this, and had nothing more to do with the car after the purchase was completed.  However, she was later successfully sued personally as the record title owner.

You need to be careful in becoming an owner of a motor vehicle and allowing other people to operate it.  Don’t get blindsided by the dangerous instrumentality doctrine.

– Barry K. Baker, Esq., is an experienced personal injury attorney with Bogin, Munns, & Munns, P.A., a full service law firm with offices in Orlando, Clermont, Kissimmee, Deltona, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Melbourne, Gainesville, and Leesburg, Florida.  Mr. Baker works out of the Melbourne office of the firm and welcomes questions and comments regarding the above and can be reached at bbaker@boginmunns.com

NO LEGAL ADVICE: This blog entry is not intended as legal advice nor should you consider it as such. It is intended only as general information.  You should not act upon this information without retaining professional legal counsel. Please keep in mind that merely subscribing to or reading this blog or otherwise contacting Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. in the manner that you have will not establish an attorney-client relationship with our firm. Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. cannot represent you until the firm knows there would not be a conflict of interest, and the firm determines that it is otherwise able to accept the engagement. The engagement would also be confirmed by a written agreement.