When a borrowed car causes a crash in Texas, your claim is usually against the driver, and the owner’s insurance typically pays first because coverage follows the vehicle. The owner can be held personally liable only on specific grounds, such as negligent entrustment. The Burkett Law Firm handles these claims for injured people in Corpus Christi.
Who is responsible when someone else was driving the car?
In Texas, fault generally rests with the person whose negligence caused the crash. If a friend, relative or coworker was behind the wheel and ran a red light on SPID or rear-ended you on I-37, that driver is the primary person responsible.
Ownership alone does not make someone liable. A car owner who lends a vehicle to a careful, licensed driver usually is not personally responsible for that driver’s mistakes. The owner’s insurance policy, however, often still covers the crash. That distinction between who is legally at fault and whose insurance pays is the key to most non-owner driver claims.
Does the owner’s insurance cover a borrowed car?
Usually, yes. Texas requires an owner’s auto liability policy to cover the named insured and anyone else who uses the covered vehicle with the named insured’s express or implied permission (Tex. Transp. Code § 601.076). Permission can be spoken, or it can be implied from a pattern, such as a roommate who regularly uses the car.
Texas minimum liability limits under Chapter 601 of the Transportation Code are $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per crash for injuries and $25,000 for property damage. In a serious crash, those minimums can run out fast.
When more than one policy is involved, the order usually works like this:
- The owner’s policy typically pays first, because coverage generally follows the car.
- The driver’s own policy, if the driver has one, may add coverage once the owner’s limits are used up. Drivers without a car sometimes carry a non-owner policy, which provides liability coverage when they drive vehicles they do not own.
- Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may pay the rest. Texas insurers must offer this coverage under Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101, and it is part of your policy unless you rejected it in writing.
Coverage can be disputed. An insurer may deny the claim if the driver was specifically excluded by name on the owner’s policy, or if the insurer argues the driver never had permission. Those disputes are one reason to get help early.
When can you sue the vehicle owner directly?
The owner can be personally liable in a few situations, each with its own rules.
Negligent entrustment
An owner who lends a car to someone they should not trust with it can be responsible for the harm that follows. Under Schneider v. Esperanza Transmission Co., 744 S.W.2d 595 (Tex. 1987), the injured person must show that:
- The owner entrusted the vehicle to the driver.
- The driver was unlicensed, incompetent or reckless.
- The owner knew or should have known the driver was unlicensed, incompetent or reckless.
- The driver was negligent on the occasion in question.
- The driver’s negligence proximately caused the crash.
Examples include handing the keys to someone with a suspended license, a history of drunk driving or a string of recent wrecks. The owner’s knowledge is often the hardest element to prove, so driving records, prior crashes and statements from people who know both parties can matter a great deal.
An employee driving a company vehicle
When the driver is an employee, the employer can be vicariously liable. The Supreme Court of Texas explained in Painter v. Amerimex Drilling I, Ltd., 561 S.W.3d 125 (Tex. 2018), that the injured person must show the driver was an employee and was acting within the course and scope of employment when the crash happened. A delivery driver on a route or a field worker driving a crew to a job site often fits. Commercial vehicle cases usually involve larger insurance policies, which can make a significant difference in a serious injury case. Our Corpus Christi truck accident lawyers handle crashes involving work trucks, vans and 18-wheelers.
Does Texas use the family purpose doctrine?
No. Some states hold a car owner automatically responsible for crashes caused by family members who drive the family car. Texas does not follow that doctrine. A parent or spouse is not liable just because a relative was driving their car. The owner can still be liable through negligent entrustment, for example by letting a teenager with a record of reckless driving use the car, and the owner’s insurance will usually cover a permitted family driver.
Rental cars
A federal law, 49 U.S.C. § 30106, generally protects rental and leasing companies from liability based only on owning the vehicle, as long as the company was not itself negligent and did not engage in criminal wrongdoing. In a rental car crash, the claim is usually against the renter and any insurance the renter purchased or carried.
| Situation | Who you can usually pursue | Insurance that usually pays first |
|---|---|---|
| Friend or relative borrowed the car with permission | The driver | The owner’s auto policy |
| Owner lent the car to a known reckless or unlicensed driver | The driver and the owner | The owner’s auto policy |
| Employee driving for work | The driver and the employer | The employer’s commercial policy |
| Rental car | The renter | The renter’s policy or rental coverage |
| Driver had no permission, or the car was stolen | The driver | Possibly your own uninsured motorist coverage |
What if the driver had no permission?
If the owner never allowed the person to drive, the owner’s liability coverage may not apply to that driver, and the owner usually is not personally liable. You can still pursue the driver directly, but many drivers who take a car without permission carry no insurance of their own. In that case, your uninsured motorist coverage may be the main source of recovery. Our guide on being hit by an uninsured driver in Texas explains how those claims work.
What should you gather after a crash with a non-owner driver?
These cases often turn on paperwork, so collect as much as you can:
- The driver’s name, license number and contact information
- The registered owner’s name, which is listed on the crash report and registration
- Insurance information for the owner and for the driver, if the driver has a separate policy
- Whether the driver was working, and for whom
- Photos of the vehicles, the scene and any company markings
- Names of witnesses and any statements about where the driver was going
- Your medical records and bills from the first visit forward
Our Corpus Christi car accident lawyers can request the crash report, identify every policy that may apply and put each insurer on notice.
How long do you have to file?
Most Texas personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the crash under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003. Finding the right defendants and insurers takes time, so waiting can leave a claim against the owner or an employer unfiled when the deadline passes. Our Texas personal injury statute of limitations guide explains the exceptions. If a crash was fatal, the family may have a claim under the Texas Wrongful Death Act; our wrongful death attorneys can explain who may bring it.
Your own share of fault matters too. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, you cannot recover if you are more than 50 percent responsible, and a smaller share reduces your recovery.
When should you call a lawyer?
Call when the driver and owner are different people, when an insurer says the driver was not covered, when the driver was working, or when your injuries may exceed the policy limits. Each of those issues affects who pays and how much.
The Burkett Law Firm has served injured people in Corpus Christi and across the Coastal Bend, from Portland and Robstown to Flour Bluff and Padre Island, since 1960. Lead attorney David Burkett is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The Burkett Law Firm’s published results include $20,000,000 in a commercial van wrongful death case and $5,750,000 in a company vehicle rollover case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. With contingency representation, you pay no attorney’s fee and no case costs unless the firm recovers compensation. Call (361) 882-8822 or contact The Burkett Law Firm for a free consultation about who should pay for your crash.
Reviewed by David Burkett, Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law – Texas Board of Legal Specialization
