Q. Often, a negligent driver has inadequate insurance. Sometimes, even the injured person's uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is not sufficient to cover all of the damages. Clients ask if there is any other insurance to turn to so they can be fully compensated for their injuries.

 A. Yes. There are numerous circumstances which would make persons or companies other than the negligent driver legally liable for damages suffered as a result of the careless driver's conduct. This is called vicarious liability. Under Iowa law, an owner of a vehicle driven by someone else with the owner's consent is legally liable for the damages negligently caused in the operation of that vehicle. For example, if the owner of a car loans his car to a friend who negligently injures you, then the owner's insurance will also provide coverage. Therefore, if the driver had $20,000.00 of liability insurance and the owner had $100,000.00 of liability insurance, there would be a total of $120,000.00 of liability insurance. This is one good reason why parents often raise their liability limits when their children begin to drive their vehicles.

            Another circumstance which commonly creates vicarious liability is when an employee on the job injures someone while operating a vehicle. This may be an over-the-road truck driver employed by a company or a delivery person driving his own vehicle. In either circumstance, the employer would be liable for the negligence of its employees. Since companies often have much higher insurance liability limits, this can be beneficial.