Owner Liability When a Borrowed Car Causes a Crash

Attorney Answer

Yes, an owner can be pursued for a crash someone else caused in their car — but California caps that particular kind of owner liability at a fixed and fairly low amount, and it is a separate question from what the driver himself owes.

Cal. Veh. Code § 17150 makes the owner of a motor vehicle liable and responsible for death or injury to person or property resulting from a negligent or wrongful act or omission in the operation of the vehicle by a person using it with the owner's permission, express or implied. That statute is why the other drivers are calling you rather than only the driver: when a car is loaned out, the claim can follow the car.

What most people do not know is the ceiling. Cal. Veh. Code § 17151(a) caps liability imposed by § 17150 at $15,000 for injury to or death of one person, $30,000 for all injuries or deaths in one accident, and $5,000 for property damage. Those figures were deliberately left alone when the Legislature raised the insurance minimums for accidents on or after January 1, 2025, so they are still the owner-liability caps. The cap covers liability that comes from § 17150 alone. It does not cover an owner who is liable on some other footing — as the driver's employer, for instance, or for entrusting the keys to someone the owner knew should not be driving. Whether either of those is even in play on your facts is a question to put to a local attorney rather than to an adjuster.

The driver's own responsibility is separate and is not capped. Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a) makes everyone responsible for an injury occasioned to another by want of ordinary care in the management of their property or person. The other drivers' first claim is against him and against whatever insurance he carried, and his insurer's denial of some claims does not shift his liability onto you.

Your own totaled car is a claim of yours against whoever caused the collision. Cal. Civ. Code § 3333 measures those damages as the amount that will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused.

One consequence of the car being uninsured is worth knowing now. Cal. Veh. Code § 16070(a) provides that when a driver involved in a reportable accident did not have evidence of financial responsibility at the time, the Department of Motor Vehicles suspends the driving privilege of the driver or the owner. California also has a separate accident-report form that must go to the DMV after certain crashes under Cal. Veh. Code § 16000(a); ask the DMV or a local attorney whether it applies to you.

What you can do

1. Speak with a local attorney before you answer questions from the other drivers, their insurers, or the driver's insurer — including any recorded statement.

2. Preserve what already exists rather than creating anything new: the collision report number, photographs, the title and registration, your text messages with the driver, and every letter from the insurers.

3. Ask the driver's insurer in writing for the reasons it is denying the claims. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.7(b)(1) requires an insurer that denies a third-party claim, or disputes liability or damages, to do so in writing.

4. Check your driving privilege with the DMV and ask what it needs to lift or avoid a suspension under Cal. Veh. Code § 16070.

5. Ask a local attorney whether the § 17151(a) cap covers everything being claimed against you, and what your own claim for the totaled car is worth pursuing against.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim for damage to a vehicle runs on Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1)'s three years, and any injury claim the other drivers bring runs on the two years given by Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1. Which period applies to which piece of this, and when each one started, depends on your facts — have a local attorney check the dates now, while the insurers are still writing to you.