Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
What is the implied consent law?
A friend's son took his truck while he was in the hospital. When he found out he told him to park it and not use it. He knew that he was not covered under his father's insurance, infact he was excluded.
He wreck his truck by running into a building. Of course the insurance won't pay the $7,000 repair bill on the truck and now the building owners insurance company is suing the father saying his son had implied consent. At the time his son was 20 years old. Is the father liable?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: What is the implied consent law?
This sounds like a very tricky situation your friend has gotten into. The fact that the son was over 18 should help matters since he was a legal adult at the time of the accident. In regards to your inquiry as to the implied consent law, I would need to speak to your friend in order to determine what position he should take. If he has already been served with a lawsuit, he should consult an attorney immediately because there are certain deadlines he must meet or he automatically looses the case and must pay. I offer complimentary consultations with no obligation if he would like to speak with an attorney to figure out what he needs to do to protect himself. He can contact my office toll free at 877-546-9918 to set up a consultation. I can at least point him in the right direction.
Sincerely,
John Hayes
Re: What is the implied consent law?
Thank you for posting your situation to my website.
The issue of permissive use or consent to operate a vehicle is separate and distinct from the issue of coverage exclusion. The issue of permissive use arises when there is no issue of coverage but there is an issue as to whether someone had permission to use the vehicle. In that case, the son would be deemed to have had "implied" consent and therefore, the father's insurance company would cover the damage.
In this case, the fact that the son was excluded on the policy means that there is no coverage for the son driving the vehicle regardless of whether he had permission or not. Regardless of those facts, there would be no coverage under the father's insurance policy. The father would not be responsible for his son since his son was an adult at the time of the accident.
However, the father will probably have statutory liability under California law for up to $5,000.00 for property damage just be being the registered owner of the vehicle.
Sincerely,
SAM M. EAGLE
ATTORNEY AT LAW
10101 SLATER AVENUE, #218
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA 92708
TELEPHONE: (714) 963-5123
FACSIMILE: (714) 964-9993
E-MAIL: [email protected]
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