Negligent Entrustment

Item: Law Office of Doug Goyen
Rating: 5
Author: Socorro V.

If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, you have damages, and the law allows you to seek compensation from those who caused the damage. On behalf of our clients, the Law Office of Doug Goyen’s Dallas auto accident attorneys provide expertise, top-tier representation, and a strong desire for justice. We go after the insurance company for car accident injuries. If you are looking for a negligent entrustment accident attorney, call attorney Doug Goyen, a personal injury lawyer with over 23 years of experience handling injury claims. We can begin working on your case right away. Make a call right now to (972) 599 4100.

Many car accident injury cases are caused by unlicensed drivers or dangerous drivers. Some parents let their unlicensed teenagers drive their cars. Some people will give the keys to their car to someone they know is intoxicated or under the influence of illicit drugs or even legal drugs but the type of medication where the person should not be driving. Some drivers get access to vehicles even though they are dangerous drivers.

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Establishing Negligent Entrustment in Texas

In Texas, people who are injured in car accidents caused by unlicensed or dangerous drivers have the right to sue the owner of the vehicle for negligent entrustment of their vehicle.

How do you establish that a driver is careless or incompetent?

According to Texas law, the determination of whether the driver is reckless or incompetent is made at the time of the entrustment in order to prove negligent entrustment. Huynh v. R. Warehousing & Port Servs., 973 S.W 2d 375, 378 (Tex. App. – Tyler 1998, no pet.).

NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT AND DRUNK DRIVERS

If the other person was intoxicated at the time the vehicle was entrusted to them, the person who gave them access to the vehicle negligently entrusted that vehicle to that driver.

The determination of whether a driver is reckless or incompetent is made on a case-by-case basis. An intoxicated driver is clearly reckless or incompetent behind the wheel. The driver’s driving record, the driver’s condition, and the situation are all factors to consider when determining whether a driver is reckless or incompetent. Zamora v. Dairyland, 930 S.W.2d 739 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 1996, writ denied).

NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT TO UNLICENSED DRIVER

It is relatively simple to prove that a driver is not licensed. They either have or do not have a valid driver’s license. If they are not licensed and are driving someone else’s vehicle and cause an accident, the owner of the vehicle may have a claim against them for negligently entrusting their vehicle to this unlicensed driver.

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HOW “ENTRUSTMENT” OF THE VEHICLE IS ESTABLISHED

In Texas, a driver is considered a permissive user if he or she reasonably believes they have permission to drive a vehicle. United State Fire Ins. v. USAA, 772 S.W.2d 218 (Tex. App. – Dallas 1989, writ denied). If a driver reasonably believes they have permission, the law considers them to have been granted permission to drive the vehicle, regardless of what the owner says later.

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WHAT YOU MAY BE OWED DUE TO YOUR AUTO ACCIDENT INJURY

Personal injury attorneys use the term “damages” to describe how you were harmed or lost money in your personal injury or wrongful death case. In other words, if you have one or more of the following types of injuries, Texas law allows you to recover money to compensate you for the harm caused by the negligent conduct (or the damage that was caused, or harm that was caused, or loss that was caused). If you have proof of the claimed damage or injury, the person or company responsible for the accident or injury may be forced to pay for the following injuries or damages.

Past and future medical bills: The amount of medical bills required to treat your injury in the past and in the future.
Past and future pain and suffering: Compensation is allowed for past and future pain and suffering based on a jury’s common sense, knowledge, and sense of justice. In terms of settling a claim, determining the value of pain and suffering is done by imagining what a jury – who does not know anyone involved – will think the value is.
Loss of a body member or mental function: If you have lost an arm, leg, or mental function or capacity as a result of the accident or injury, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses.
Loss of consortium: If the injury was severe enough that you no longer enjoyed the companionship of your family members, you are entitled to compensation for the harm done to your family relationships.
Loss of services: If a husband or wife is unable to perform their normal household duties as a result of the injury, they are entitled to compensation.
Past and future lost income: The amount of money you have lost and will lose as a result of the injury.
Physical impairment in the past and future: How you have been physically impaired in the past as a result of your injury, and how you will be physically impaired in the future.
Disfigurement in the past and in the future: How the injury physically disfigured you in the past and how it will disfigure you in the future.
Past and future mental anguish: How your physical injury has caused significant mental anguish, to the point where it is more than disappointment, resentment, embarrassment, or anger, and how it will continue to do so in the future.

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IF YOU WERE INJURED IN A CAR ACCIDENT DUE TO NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT, HIRE AN ATTORNEY

Doug Goyen, a car accident injury lawyer who represents those needing a negligent entrustment accident attorney, has represented thousands of people in car wreck injury cases and obtained millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on their behalf. If you were injured in a car accident because someone negligently entrusted their vehicle to an unlicensed or dangerous driver, we can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call today for a free case evaluation. Call us at (972) 599 4100 or use our website contact form to get in touch. There is no fee unless and until you win.

FREE CASE REVIEWS

If you are looking for a Dallas personal injury attorney, call (972) 599 4100. We offer free phone consultations. We also provide a free strategy session. The strategy session includes a summary of your case, legal issues involved, and legal issues we identify as being critical to maximizing the compensation owed.

THERE IS NO FEE IF WE DO NOT WIN

You owe us nothing if we are unable to recover. We charge a contingency fee structured to take a percentage of what we recover. As a performance-based contract, the better we do for you, the better we do for ourselves. This aligns our interests in the case with our client’s interests.

DIRECTIONS TO OUR OFFICE

Law Office of Doug Goyen
15851 Dallas Pkwy #605
Addison, Texas 75001
(972) 599 4100 phone
(972) 398 2629 fax

Directions to our office: We are on the southbound side of the service road to the Tollway. Stay on the Dallas North Tollway until you come to the Keller Springs exit. Take the Keller Spring exit. Stay on the service road on the southbound side and go just past Keller Springs. Our office is the 2nd building south of Keller Springs, located on the service road to the North Dallas Tollway in the Madison Business Center on the 6th floor.

By Doug Goyen, douggoyen@goyenlaw.com

Call For A Free Case Review (972) 599 4100

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★★★★★

You want a great lawyer who keeps you informed on whats going on speaks with you personally and gets the job done call Doug Goyen. He is excellent & very professional you wont go wrong choosing him!! Thanks again for all your help Mr. Goyen! Socorro V.

★★★★★

Very efficient staff. I am VERY pleased with this firm. Gina W.

★★★★★

Very professional job handling my accident claim. I had some ER bills, and some visits to my ortho after (and various other bills that kept coming in). I was afraid I was going to get stuck owing money, but Doug Goyen took care of the case and had everything paid, including compensating me for the injury. Great lawyer IMO. I felt like my case was taken care of very well. Thx!! Bernard M.

★★★★★

Doug is a great attorney. He took care of my auto accident claim promptly, and answered any questions I had. I also had one of my hospital bills go into collections for non-payment. I was able to contact Doug a year after the accident, and received a copy of the check the hospital claimed they didn’t receive. I highly recommend this guy. David J.

★★★★★

The Law Office of Doug Goyen helped me recovery every bit I was owed on my claim. Very happy I used them. They knew what they were doing, and kept me informed. I felt taken care of the whole way. You wont go wrong using them. Arthur H.

★★★★★

Mr. Goyen helped me take on my own insurance company, the great and mighty Allstate. My prior firm basically dumped me, with a permanent injury because the case didn’t meet their financial guidelines for a settlement. I was a bicycle rider hit by a car driver at an intersection, and Allstate was the company on BOTH SIDES OF THE CLAIM. My own insurance company tried to throw me under the bus to limit their payout! Without Mr. Goyen’s help, I would have been left with NOTHING! I had thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills, unable to receive treatment to correct the issue. He was unafraid and helped me get the best settlement I could … I am tremendously thankful! Pamala M.