Who is ultimately responsible?

Uncle Jed

Yes they can. He was driving on behalf of the co or driving a company car so they can be held accountable. They allowed him to operate there vehicle.

skwayne

I am a commercial motor vehicle operator. If I decided to have a drink and get behind the wheel of my tractor-trailer, go down the highway, veer off the road, hit a home and multiple vehicles, subsequently get charged with DUI. Three definite things are going to happen. 1) Lose my job. 2) Company insurance pays for damage as I am a representative of that company at ALL times that i am operating THEIR vehicle. 3) Company sues me to recover the damages to their vehicle and property damage. There are other processes that occur, but I am just answering the basics for the purpose of your question. You may even want to call your auto and homeowners insurance company to request payment on your behalf. But DO NOT make a claim through your own insurance companies. A lawyer should be your last resort because your ins. co. should want to do everything to keep their insured happy and put their lawyers to work for you.

mom_of_1

I am pretty sure the company can be held liable. Just like a bar can be held liable for letting someone drink and drive.

duffmanasu

Whoever owns the vehicle, in this case the company, is required by law to carry insurance on the vehicle or to be financially responsible for accidents caused by their vehicle. That company's car insurance should pay for the damage to your cars and home, assuming that they have property damage liability limits that are sufficient to cover the cost of the repairs.

If the drunk driver had possession of the vehicle, it's fairly safe to assume that he had permission from the company to operate the vehicle, in which case the company is absolutely liable as well. If the drunk driver is not listed as a driver on the company's insurance policy (or if they don't have a blanket policy that covers all of their vehicles/employees) then the insurance company may try to fight the claim, but ultimately the company will most likely be found liable.

Worst case scenario, you should be able to put in a claim on your Homeowner's insurance to repair your house, and put in claims on your auto insurance policies if both vehicles have Collision coverage or Uninsured/Underinsured motorist property damage protection. This is a kind of a lousy option because you'd be subject to your deductible on all policies and this could easily total a couple of thousand dollars or more. But at least that way you'd get everything repaired and your insurance company would undergo a process called subrogation where they sue the responsible party or their insurance company to recooperate their losses and your deductibles. This can take months or years though : (

My experience is mostly confined to the state of Arizona, and I'm not sure where you are so your state's laws may differ.

Let's just hope that the moron who was driving drunk without a valid driver's license is locked up for a good chunk of time and never allowed within 100 feet of a steering wheel again.

Ruth C

if he was driving the vehicle with their consent, yes. You should be able to get payment from them and they would then go after him.

Bfyfe5683

Yes I think so.. Consult a lawyer to be sure!

cantstop

Look up information about VICAROUSLY LIABILITY. It should help you. Then contact a lawyer.

allthumbs

We're the wrong people to ask,you need to contact a lawyer.Not only is his insurance liable.I believe you can sue him on top of it for mental anquish and stuff.Get a good lawyer.I had an idiot for mine....boy did I ever get the shaft.

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