Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
Q: I was injured by a driver who has a revoked license when they ran a stop sign. Their insurance company says they may not have insurance because of the revoked license. The other driver was driving a borrowed car that had insurance. Is it true that there may be no insurance for my broken leg and lost wages?
Jasmyn
Tuscumbia, Alabama
A: A revoked license does not cancel insurance. However, there are situations where people are such bad drivers that they are “excluded drivers”. If someone is driver excluded from the insurance on the car that caused the accident, then there is no insurance coverage. Exclusions from coverage of named drivers are valid in Alabama.
The next thing a lawyer would look for is whether or not the person that owned the car was aware of how bad a driver the person that caused the accident was. Alabama allows a lawsuit against a person who allows someone drive their car if they know (or should know) that this person is likely to cause an accident. The most common facts that give rise to this type of suit is letting someone who has been drinking borrow a car. The same would hold true for someone loaning a car to someone under the influence of drugs. If a person has reason to know that the person borrowing their car is impaired and the impaired driver hurts someone, the owner of the car can be held liable.
This cause of action is known as “negligent entrustment” and it includes the idea that the owner knew that the driver was incompetent, inexperienced and/or reckless and proof that this driver legally caused harm to another.
Talk to a good personal injury lawyer and always remember to notify your insurance company of the accident. Occasionally, insurance companies will claim they were not notified of a claim for uninsured motorist coverage, and this just creates a needless problem in your claim for insurance that you paid for.
Buckle up and drive safely.
McCutcheon & Hamner, P.C.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, Alabama 35630
Telephone: 256-764-0112
Facsimile: 256-349-2529
