Blaming a driver for a car accident is understandable; after all, they were the ones in charge of the car. However, there are cases where someone else may be liable for the accident in addition to the driver. Identifying this person is important since it increases your risk of recovering your full damages. Here are three factors that may determine whether you should look beyond the driver when determining liability for a car accident:

The Status of the Driver's Employment

One of the things you need to determine is whether the driver is employed, and if so, whether they were working for their employer at the time of the accident. This is important because there are situations in which an employer may be held responsible for their employee's actions.

For example, most states have employer liability laws that hold an employer responsible for their employee's actions if they enabled or encouraged the employer's acts or engaged in negligent hiring. That is why an employer who hires a person with a long history of drunk driving may be held responsible for the damages related to an accident caused by the employee while drunk driving.

The Age of the Driver

If the driver looks young, then it is also a good idea to determine their true age. If it turns out that the driver is a minor, then see if you can include their parents in your injury claims. This may be the case if your state has a vicarious liability or parental liability law that holds parents liable for their kid's actions. These laws were instituted to encourage parents to look out for and control their kids since the latter may not have enough sense to stay out of trouble on their own.

The Ownership of the Car

Lastly, you also need to determine who truly owns the car. This information is valuable because if the car is owned by another party, then the owner may be responsible for your damages even if the driver was also negligible. This may be the case if the driver is unfit to drive, and the owner of the car knew or should have known the fact. A driver is unfit to drive if they are sick, drunk or just careless drivers with histories of accidents.

As you can see, you should not just focus on the driver if you have been hurt in an accident. Dig for more information to widen the net or responsible parties and increase your chances of full recovery. Contact a lawyer, like Helfand, David PA, for more help.