Yes. Young motorists driving with a permit can seek injury compensation after they’ve been hit by careless drivers. Investigators will likely check to see that young drivers were following the rules that go along with having a learner’s permit, but that won’t affect their ability to demand injury support.
Young drivers can be more prone to mistakes as they travel down the street, learning as they go. But that inexperience doesn’t mean they are always to blame for accidents. There are still plenty of adult drivers on the road who can be just as careless and reckless. Young drivers need to know that they can still demand injury compensation after an accident.
Who Pays for an Accident After a Collision Involving a Driver with a Learner’s Permit?
Young drivers may cause the occasional accident, but reckless drivers of all ages can also put those first-time drivers at major risk.
If the other driver is proven to have caused the accident, an injured young motorist and passengers could seek support from the driver’s car insurance company.
In the course of the investigation, it may be found that a driver with a learner’s permit (also known as an instructional permit) wasn’t following the rules set forth for young motorists. A teen may have been traveling without an adult in the car, or perhaps driving without a driver’s license. But those violations would be handled separately.
As long as the other driver was found accountable for the accident, the motorist with the learner’s permit would be empowered to seek compensation. This compensation could include money to pay all medical bills and ambulance fees. The victim could seek support for the physical and emotional pain they experience. The cost to repair a family car should also be included in any settlement check.
For more information, visit Maison Law’s page on what to do if you are in an accident while you have your learner’s permit.
The Laws for Young Drivers with Instructional Permits
California issues Learner’s Permits to drivers as young as 15 ½ years old. They must complete driver education classes and take a knowledge test. Once they have their learner’s permit, they are then only allowed to drive with an adult in the car.
Teens with a learner’s permit can’t just go off on solo road trips. They must obey certain guidelines or risk losing their permits and having trouble finding car insurance:
- Teens with instruction permits cannot drive alone at any time.
- They are allowed to practice driving with an adult in the passenger’s seat.
- The adult must be close enough to be able to take control of the vehicle if necessary.
- The adult must be someone who is at least 25 years old. The person is often a parent or guardian or a driving instructor.
Do I Need a Lawyer as a Young Driver in an Accident?
In an accident involving a serious injury, teen drivers could need to prove their innocence and make sure they receive enough in support to pay for a full recovery. A skilled California Teen Driving Accident Lawyer can help.
A careless driver’s fault may be obvious and the fault may even be documented in a police accident report, but insurance companies can’t be counted on to provide support willingly. Insurance adjusters will look for ways to avoid blame, perhaps by attempting to fault the young driver for the accident. Insurance adjusters also look for ways to limit the support a family receives. This could leave parents to pay for half or more of a young driver’s medical bills. Your lawyer investigates your accident and gathers the evidence necessary to hold the at-fault driver and their insurance providers fully liable.
A young motorist may be found at fault for an accident as well. Their insurance coverage would usually come from the parent or guardian’s car insurance policy. But beware, sometimes 15 and 16-year-old drivers are blamed for accidents they didn’t cause, simply because of biases or stereotypes. A California car accident lawyer can be a powerful safeguard when fault is in question.
You can speak to a real California car accident lawyer when you have questions about what your child should do after an accident. Maison Law offers a free, confidential case consultation to collision victims of all ages. It’s a no-risk way to find out how to protect your child after a frightening accident.
