Perry, FL Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

If your name is on the title, it is your car. If someone causes an accident while driving it with your permission, you can be held liable. Your parents can't be held liable because they do not own the car. But, they are liable on the note, so if you don't pay, the bank can go after them.

You most definitely should contact a personal injury lawyer in your area. Here's why: The old saying is: "He who acts as his own lawyer has a fool for a client". The reason for that saying is that this is a tricky business and there is no room for do-it-yourselfers. You would be up against professional insurance people, lawyers who know what they're doing and rules upon rules upon rules that you don't know anything about. Assessment of an appropriate settlement requires detailed analysis of liability and damages, including application of legal principles, evidentiary factors, medical documentation, out of pocket expenses, calculation of future losses and experience in your jurisdiction as to likely range of prospective jury awards. Specifically, you mentioned comparitive negligence. That is an issue that requires particular skill and experience in managing. Look at it this way: If I have negotiated hundreds of personal injury claims over the last three decades, and you've never negotiated one, which one of us do you think would be able to do a better job? If you retain a lawyer you will be much more likely to get the right result.

I have to give that a "definite maybe". Failure to provide adequate security cases are difficult to prove. But, since there are prior incidents, there is something to go on. You will need an expert witness.