Who is responsible in car accidents involving teen drivers? Contact The Hoffmann Law Firm today for a free consultation.
Teen drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in car accidents due to their inexperience, risk-taking behaviors, and sometimes distractions. Determining responsibility can be complex when an accident involves a teen driver.
At The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C., we have over 20 years of experience helping car accident victims in St. Louis and throughout Missouri. If you’ve been injured in an accident involving a teen driver, contact us today for a free consultation. We’re here to help you get the justice you deserve.
In Missouri, like in most states, determining fault in a car accident depends on the concept of negligence. The responsible party is typically the one whose actions (or inactions) caused the accident. For teen drivers, common negligent behaviors include:
Distracted Driving: Using a cell phone, texting, or interacting with passengers.
Speeding or Reckless Driving: Driving faster than the posted speed limit or engaging in dangerous maneuvers.
Driving Under the Influence (DUI): Although illegal for anyone under 21, some teen drivers still drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
When a teen driver’s negligence causes an accident, they (and possibly their parents) can be held legally and financially responsible.
Parental Responsibility in Teen Driver Accidents
Missouri follows the “Family Purpose Doctrine,” which can make parents liable for their teen’s actions under certain circumstances. Here’s how:
Negligent Entrustment
If a parent allows their teen to drive knowing they are inexperienced, reckless, or unfit to operate a vehicle safely, they may be held responsible. For example:
Allowing a teen with a history of speeding tickets to borrow the family car.
Letting an underage or unlicensed teen drive.
Vicarious Liability
In Missouri, parents are generally not automatically liable for their teen’s actions. However, if the parent owns and insures the car, they may be indirectly responsible through their insurance policy.
Financial Responsibility
Missouri parents must sign a Parent/Guardian Financial Responsibility Form when their teen obtains a driver’s license. This form binds the parent or guardian to assume legal liability for the teen driver’s actions until the teen turns 18.
Shared or Comparative Fault in Missouri
Missouri follows a comparative fault system, which means more than one party can share responsibility for an accident. If a teen driver is partially at fault, their degree of fault will reduce the compensation they (or their insurer) must pay. For example:
If the teen is found 70% responsible for the accident and the other driver 30%, the teen’s liability is limited to their 70% share.
This also works in reverse; if you are partially responsible for the accident, it could impact your ability to recover compensation.
Insurance Implications
If a teen driver causes an accident, their car insurance policy (or their parents’ policy) typically covers the damages. Here’s how it works:
Liability Coverage: Pays for damages and injuries to the other party if the teen is at fault.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Protects the teen and their family if the other driver lacks adequate insurance.
Parental Policies: If the teen is driving a car owned by their parents, the parent’s insurance policy is usually the primary coverage.
It’s important to note that allowing an uninsured teen to drive can result in significant legal and financial consequences.
Steps to Take After a Car Accident Involving a Teen Driver
If you’re involved in an accident with a teen driver, take the following steps:
Ensure Safety: Check for injuries and call emergency services if needed.
Call the Police: Obtain an official accident report to document important details.
Gather Evidence: Take photos of the scene, vehicle damage, and any visible injuries.
Exchange Information: Collect the teen’s driver’s license, insurance details, and contact information. If the parents are involved, try to speak to them.
Seek Legal Advice: An experienced car accident attorney can help you navigate liability issues and deal with insurance companies.
How a Car Accident Attorney Can Help
Car accidents involving teen drivers can quickly become complicated due to questions of liability, insurance coverage, and parental responsibility. An experienced attorney can:
Investigate the accident to determine fault.
Negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf.
Help you pursue compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Represent you in court if necessary.
Contact The Hoffmann Law Firm Today
When a teen driver is involved in a car accident, determining who is responsible requires careful evaluation of the circumstances. While the teen driver may bear primary responsibility, parents can also face liability under certain conditions. If you’ve been injured in such an accident, understanding your rights and working with an experienced attorney is crucial to securing fair compensation.
At The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C., we have over 20 years of experience helping car accident victims in St. Louis and throughout Missouri. If you’ve been injured in an accident involving a teen driver, contact us today for a free consultation. We’re here to help you get the justice you deserve.
This legal professional has shown exceptional competence and dedication in their field. I highly recommend their services to anyone seeking legal representation that is committed to unwavering advocacy and support throughout the entirety of their case.
I would describe this lawyer as highly educated, sharp, and top of his game. Explains the car accident process and treatment options well. The lawyer said if they don’t pay you, we will have the jury take it from the insurance company. Great lawyer. Dynamic person.
Interviewed all the TV car accident lawyers and decided to call this law firm that had great reviews. So happy I did. What a difference!
Response from the owner: TV car accident lawyers are just mass production. This is not a good fit for litigated cases. Paralegals instead of lawyers. Monthly quotas for settlements. Car accident victims end up in a cattle call with the lawyers on TV.
Love my car accident lawyer. This law firm is a step above.
Response from the owner: Our lawyers train and track the best approaches on cases. Whether litigation in cases or the practicalities of certain treatment, the growth of our lawyers over time is paramount. Always staying ahead of and setting practice trends. Thank you.
Serious family member have a car accident injury? Look no further. This litigator is for real. Always two steps ahead of the other lawyer.
Response from the owner: This is a sad reality for car accident lawyers. The #1 passenger in an auto accident is a relative. Helping a family make it through this and putting the family back together is one of the most rewarding things I do as an automobile accident attorney.
This lawyer handles really big accident cases in St Louis. He is a lawyer, accountant and has his masters in tax so he gets the injury cases for individuals that can never go back to work or individuals own a business and cannot run it due to injury. He specializes in valuations of massive loss. Thank goodness a firm like this exists.
Response from the owner: Thank you. When accident are severe and you lose the ability to work or to continue a business, having an accounting and tax background is key. Valuing large losses are second nature for us.
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Response from the owner: Our attorney have deposed nearly all the trauma surgeons at every Level 1 Trauma Center in Saint Louis. These doctors save lives after a car accident. Whether controlling bleeding or reestablishing blood flow or bone structures, they are life savers.
Few lawyers in St. Louis can handle the biggest injury cases! This is one of them!
Response from the owner: Our law firm has made great efforts in terms of training to handle life changing injury cases. Whether in depth knowledge of the medical, loss of income and earning capacity, or lifetime medical care plans, our clients feel confident and know their case is in good hands. Thank you for the compliment.
Cannot say enough about this lawyer. Call if in an accident. This attorney handles the biggest car accidents in St Louis.
Response from the owner: Thanks Ash! Our biggest source of cases is our clients. Our second biggest referral source is defense lawyers telling their relatives to call us. Few lawyers can handle the largest cases. Our law firm welcomes and has trained for this. We don’t do mass production settlement like the lawyers on TV. Our clients can never go back to work. Their cases need massive focus and effort and often long fought litigation.
So glad I called attorney Hoffmann. This time I got it right! So glad I hired the Hoffmann Law Firm - professional, reliable and available.
Response from the owner: Thanks Taylor. Our lawyers answer the phone day, night, weekends and even during lunch. Being professional means training to beat the best defense lawyers. Client rely on us to get results and we do.
Great lawyer. Cares about his clients, knows his stuff and goes the extra mile. I recommend this lawyer for car wreck injury claim. Every other lawyer on TV would not even help with my property claim. This attorney did.
Response from the owner: Thank you for the kind words. Every case starts with a great client. You are correct the car accident lawyers on TV are mass production settlement mills. When injury clients fire them, we get their files and the cases are not worked up at all. Appreciate your confidence in us!
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Response from the owner: This is such a great compliment. Most of our cases come from prior client or lawyers that also do car accidents cases but the particular case is too large or too difficult. Being a lawyer and an accountant, we specialize in cases with total lost of income, earning capacity and/or often the inability to continue a family business. Evaluations such as these are second nature for our lawyers. Thanks.
Best in St Louis for auto accident cases. Nobody else is even close.
Response from the owner: So kind of you to leave this review. Whether our lawyers are going after big insurance or their lawyers, skill and experience are essential and win the day for our auto accident clients. Thanks!
This attorney is very smart, very experienced, returns phone calls and knows the answers when asked. One call and I knew this was a great law firm for auto accidents.
Response from the owner: Our law firm appreciates this. This is a comment we get from so many people who call…”none of the lawyers we called told me all the things that you did.” Whether we take a car accident case or not, helping people is a good thing.
5 Star Lawyer for sure! Best you will find in Saint Louis.
Response from the owner: Thanks for the 5 Star Rating. Reviews like this are great. Injury victims quickly figure out the TV advertisers are not good. We work hard at being the best we can be and it reflects in our representation of car accident victims.
Watch this lawyer in action. Was way better than all the others. Get this lawyer for an automobile accident for sure.
Response from the owner: Thanks for the recommendation. Besides doing cases, our attorneys train for this. Hard work, case knowledge and technique is key to success in car accident litigation.
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Response from the owner: We get calls from car accident victims that had to fire the TV lawyers that they hired. They give the same two reasons: 1) they never spoke to a lawyer at the Big TV law firms, only a paralegal, and 2) the paralegal recommended they accept a low offer. At our law firm, you only talk to the lawyer and if an offer is low we tell you to sue. Thanks!
Several lawyers said to call this lawyer because he is the best. You will appreciate this law firm. Helped with the injury and property claims. Attentive and knowledgeable. Great reputation in St Louis.
Response from the owner: Thanks Lexi. Our #1 source of cases is other lawyers referring us cases that are too big for them to handle.
Would use this accident law firm. Best in Saint Louis. Highly rated and it shows. After one phone call, you just know this attorney is better. 5 Stars!!
Response from the owner: Thanks for recommending our lawyers in St Louis. There is a major difference in lawyers as you well know.
Car accident lawyers on tv are not good . Get this attorney ! He is a pro !!
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Quality lawyer. Best law firm for a car accident. Advice was way better than other lawyers I called in St. Louis. Helped with property and injury.
Response from the owner: Thanks. The TV lawyer advertisers are just car accident settlement mills. As soon as people call a real attorney, they always tell us how much better and more helpful we were. Appreciate this.
This lawyer is big time. Smooth. The other lawyers on the other side were not nearly as good as this attorney. I recommend friends in St Louis to him for accident injuries and they all say the same thing…”that lawyer is great.”
Response from the owner: Very nice of you to say. Our lawyers work hard on auto accident cases.
Family used this car accident attorney after a crash. Located in St Louis. This lawyer answers the phone and will walk you through the process. Knows his stuff!
Response from the owner: Taking calls, going over the car accident injury and property process is important. Clients that call always say we are the only lawyers that explained everything. Much appreciated.
Tried the lawyers on TV. They were not good. Hired this car accident lawyer instead because he had great reviews. The reviews are correct. This attorney is as good as they get. He does big injury cases that need to be litigated.
Response from the owner: Car accident lawyers on TV do not litigate cases. It is mass production. They have quotas. Local attorneys are best on auto accidents.
Used this attorney for an auto accident. Highly recommend this lawyer in St. Louis. Communicates well.
Response from the owner: Communicating with clients is essential. Taking the client though the car accident claims process is important otherwise major mistakes can occur. It is an effort that we make. Thanks!
Fantastic law firm, I would recommend! Received free consultation related to an auto accident when my parked car was damaged by a baseball. Very supportive advice, these guys are good!
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Response from the owner: Each step is important in a car accident. Thanks for recommending us for car accidents injury claims.
