What is the Liability of Rental Car Companies after a Car Crash?

There are three major decisions from the Nevada Supreme Court on the liability of rental car companies after a car crash. The story starts in 1998, in the case of Alamo v. State Farm, where the high court said the rental company has to provide statutory minimums of $15,000 per person/$30,000.00 per accident, in accident coverage. See Alamo v. State Farm, 114 Nev. 154, 953 P.2d 1074 (1998); See also NRS 482.295. Once the court is satisfied that the car rental company has the required insurance, the judge can dismiss the rental company from the lawsuit. See NRS 482.305. Your Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney will then continue the case against the at fault driver. 

Less than two years after the Alamo case came out, the issue of car rental company liability was in front of the Nevada Supreme Court again in Salas v. Allstate Rent-A-Car. In Salas, the Court had to determine which insurance policy was first in line to pay for the injuries of an accident victim. The Court stated that since car insurance companies are in the business of evaluating risks and paying out claims, the at fault driver’s personal insurance policy pays before the car rental’s insurance kicks in. See Salas v. Allstate Rent-A-Car 14 P.3d 511(Nev. 2000). 

The trilogy ends six years later in 2006, in the case of Hall v. Enterprise Leasing. In Hall, the injured person settled with the at fault party and then tried to go after the car rental company, Enterprise, for their policy limits. However, the Nevada Supreme Court determined that the car rental company’s liability is “derivative” or is based on the at fault party’s liability. So, once the at fault party was out of the case, the car rental company had no more responsibility for accident related injuries. See Hall v. Enterprise Leasing 122 Nev. 685 137 P.3d 1104 (2006).
 
This is a very specialized area of law for a Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney. The Hall case is notable for the fact that going after the car rental company’s insurance can be a trap for the unwary. In short, once you settle and dismiss the at fault driver, you can no longer go after the car rental company for your injuries. 
 
Next time, we will talk about evidence of prior slip and falls.

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