If You Get Hit by a Stolen Car in a Police Chase, Who Pays for the Damage?

Though most people think of police pursuits as events that happen strictly on the news, the truth is that they are frequent occurrences. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, local law enforcement agencies engaged in approximately 68,000 pursuits in 2012. What this number suggests is that you have a real risk of becoming the victim of a pursuit-related crash, which begs the question: Who covers the cost of damages if and when a crash does occur?

If you were in the wrong place at the wrong time and a stolen vehicle hit you while fleeing from the police, you may worry about how you will recover the compensation you need to put your life back together. Can you file an insurance claim against the driver of the stolen vehicle? What about the owner of the stolen vehicle, or even the police department?

Though your situation is serious, it is also unique, and it is one with which only a skilled car accident attorney can help you. For answers to your most pressing questions, and for guidance on how to proceed going forward, contact Fielding Law for your free, no obligation consultation.

Police Chases Can Cause Severe and Costly Injuries

Police chases are dangerous. In fact, according to a nine-year study — the results from which the DOJ published — roughly 355 persons die per year in pursuit-related crashes. This amounts to approximately one victim per day. If a police chase resulted in the wrongful death of a loved one, know that you can recoup your financial, physical and emotional losses via a wrongful death claim. Though monetary compensation cannot fully make up for the loss you and your family experienced, it can help ease the financial burden left in his or her absence.

If you are the victim of a pursuit-related crash, you may live with extensive and debilitating injuries. Though the types of injuries people sustain in these events vary considerably, some injuries that are common of high-speed chases are as follows:

• Neck, head and brain injuries
• Road rash and burns
• Spine and spinal cord injuries
• Bone fractures and breaks
• Soft tissue damage
• Internal organ damage

Not only do such injuries require extensive care but also, they can greatly affect your ability to earn a living, maintain meaningful relationships with loved ones or enjoy a high quality of life.

Liability for Damages a Stolen Vehicle Causes

If you live with a considerable loss after a stolen vehicle hit you in a police chase, you may wish to hold the at-fault party accountable. To do so, you need to first identify who those at-fault parties are. Generally, there are three parties you can hold accountable for pursuit-related damages:

• The Driver of the Stolen Vehicle: Technically, the driver of the stolen vehicle is the primary at-fault party for a police chase-related accident. If he or she had not stolen a vehicle and attempted to evade police, the chase never would have happened and, therefore, neither would have your accident.
• The Police Officers and Their Departments: It may not cross your mind that the involved police officers can share liability for your accident-related damages, but they can. Because of the high degree of risk associated with police chases, many departments have developed restrictive policies that encourage officers to “make intelligent and acceptable decisions” and to “avoid excessive or unjustifiable risk.” These policies list out several other, safer means of apprehending runaway suspects, such as setting up roadblocks, ramming and boxing in. They also explicitly state when officers must give up a pursuit. If an officer continues a pursuit despite the risk it poses to the public, and if the chase causes the injury or death of an innocent bystander, the officer and/or his or her department may assume liability.
• Another Government Entity: In line with the above, government entities have a duty to establish policies that the police must adopt to protect the public. They must also provide training on proper pursuit procedures. If a crash occurs because of a failure on the part of a government entity, you may have a case against it.

The Problem With Suing Any of These Parties

It is one thing to identify possible at-fault parties. It is another thing entirely to pursue compensation from them. You may find that suing any of the above parties proves difficult, if not impossible, for several reasons.

For one, if you plan to sue the driver of the stolen vehicle, you may find that he or she has little assets to recover. It may prove a waste of your time and resources to pursue legal action against a party that does not have the means to pay you.

You may wonder if you can pursue damages from the driver’s insurance company instead. There is a strong possibility that the driver of a stolen vehicle does not have auto insurance, as he or she unlikely has a vehicle of his or her own to insure. In most cases, this route of recovery is out of the question for victims of police chase accidents.

If you plan to sue the police officers or the department for which they work, know that your path to any potential recovery will prove difficult. Police officers have what the law refers to as “qualified immunity,” which is a series of legal precedents that protect police officers accused of violating civilians’ constitutional rights. Unless you can establish that an officer violated a “clearly established law,” you have little chance of winning a suit against the officer or his or her department. The same holds true of trying to sue a government entity.

Stolen Vehicles and Insurance Claims

Given that filing a claim against the driver of the stolen vehicle, the police officers or a governing body is likely to cause more stress than what it is worth, you may wonder if you can simply file a claim against the policy of the vehicle owner. The answer in most cases is no.

Most insurers will not cover damages that a stolen vehicle causes. Even if you can argue that the owner was negligent in some way — such as by leaving his or her keys in the vehicle overnight — you will likely be unsuccessful in your pursuit for damages.

That leaves you with one option: Filing a claim against your own insurance policy. If you live in a no-fault state such as Utah, your insurance must cover the cost of damages regardless of whose negligence caused them. If you live in a fault state, such as Texas, you may be able to file a claim against your uninsured motorist policy, personal injury protection policy, or collision coverage, if you had the foresight to purchase it. Because the accident was not your fault, your rates should not increase.

Get the Help You Deserve

If you were hit by a stolen vehicle, you are in a unique and tricky situation. You may find yourself dealing with at-fault parties who cannot or are unwilling to pay, or who have legal immunities on their side. In these situations, it is crucial that you retain aggressive legal advocacy from a team that cares about your health and the outcome of your case. Contact Fielding Law to see why we are that team for you.