Most people forget that student drivers even exist. By the time you’re in your twenties and thirties, you forget what it was like to learn how to drive. That’s why so many people are utterly surprised when a student driver crashes into their car or SUV. After a student driver accident, clients ask our Santa Ana car accident lawyers who will compensate them for their injuries.
Here, we will explain how cases like this are handled. We will also discuss why your Santa Ana injury lawyer will more than likely name the owner of the driving school in your initial complaint. If you still have questions or concerns about your own motor vehicle accident, give us a call. Take advantage of the free consultation we offer our clients and find out if you have a valid claim.
What Makes Student Driver Accident Claims Different?
One thing that makes these cases so interesting is that you aren’t just pursuing the student driver. In fact, when it comes to seeking damages, your Santa Ana car accident lawyer will focus more on the owner of the driving school.
Your lawyer will go after both the driver and the people or group who own the driving school. If your attorney can prove the driving school is liable, you won’t be limited to the insurance the student driver has for themselves.
Your Santa Ana Injury Lawyer Still Has to Prove Fault
Your accident attorney in California still has to prove fault. They do this by proving that the defendant’s negligence caused the accident. The main difference in this sort of case is that your Santa Ana injury lawyer won’t focus only on the student driver.
They will also fight to hold the owner of the driving school liable. One way to is to prove that the person or group who owns the driving school acted negligently. For example, your lawyer could show the driving school allowed employees to take students out in a car with faulty brakes.
The other approach is to demonstrate that the instructor was negligent. Perhaps they failed to tell the student to stop at a red light. Or the instructor may have told a student to drive in the fast lane even though the young driver had no experience traveling over 20 miles per hour before.
In this scenario, the driving school is legally responsible for the employee’s actions.
How Does it Work if the Student Driver Doesn’t Have Their Own Insurance?
One fear that a lot of our clients share is that the student driver won’t have auto insurance. In California, teen drivers are legally required to carry auto insurance. However, they are only required to carry the state minimum.
If they drive a used car, they will more than likely have liability rather than comprehensive coverage. The good news is that this won’t affect you. Even liability coverage will offer significant compensation if the student driver gets into an accident.
You also have to remember that your Santa Ana injury lawyer is going to pursue the owner of the driving school as well. They are required to carry a much higher level of coverage. Because of the nature of their business, the risk of someone getting into an accident is high.
The accident could be caused by either the driver or the instructor. Either way, all our accident attorneys in California care about is settling your case for a fair amount. We also set out to do this as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
It Really Doesn’t Matter Where the Money Comes From
The way you need to look at things is that you shouldn’t care where the money comes from. The primary reason you hire a Santa Ana car accident lawyer is so that you can get compensated for your injuries.
You may call it justice or accountability. But at the end of the day, you just want to be paid fairly. You should not care whether the money for your settlement comes from the school’s general liability carrier or the student’s auto insurance.
Your accident attorney in California will do what they can to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. Of course, since more than 95% of all car accident lawsuits in California settle, you probably won’t get the full amount listed in your complaint.
Your attorney will likely settle your case for less than the full amount. As long as there is enough money or assets between the two defendants, that is all that should matter.
Sit Down with One of Our Santa Ana Injury Lawyers Sooner Rather Than Later
If you’ve been in any kind of motor vehicle accident, there’s a good chance you’ll need an accident attorney in California. Regardless of who crashed into you, your Santa Ana injury lawyer will approach your case in the same way. For example, it doesn’t matter if the defendant is a student driver or a ninety-year-old woman. Your attorney still needs to prove two things – negligence and damages.
One of the reasons we suggest that you come in and sit down with one of our Santa Ana injury lawyers is that whoever strikes first has an advantage. If you wait long enough, the student driver or the owner of the driving school may sue you.
The way the court (or jury) will see it, if you thought the other driver was at fault, you would’ve sued them. This will seriously jeopardize your chances of recovery. That’s why we say that any accident victim should talk to an accident attorney in California as soon as possible after their crash.
We offer all new clients a free, initial consultation. All you have to do is call and pick a date and time that works for you.
