Who Is Responsible For an Injury When a Car Has Been Stolen or the Owner Left the Keys in the Car?

Florida courts usually let the jury decide whether the owner leaving the keys in the car is actionable. More often than not, when the keys are left in the ignition and the car is stolen, if the vehicle causes injury to another, the owner will be liable.

Florida Statute 316.1975 states: "A person driving or in charge of a any motor vehicle may not permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition and removing the key."  There are exceptions for emergency vehicles and licensed delivery vehicles.

In Vining v. Avis Rent-A-CAr Systems, Inc., 354 So 2d 54 (Fla. 1978), a car was left running with the doors open and keys in the ignition in a high theft area.  The car was stolen and involved in an accident and the owner was found liable.  Even intervening criminal activity will not automatically release you from liability.  If you have been invloved in a Palm Beach County car accident with the driver of a stolen vehicle, the owner of the vehicle may be liable if they breached  a duty not to leave their keys in the car.

Sometimes the keys don't have to be in the car for the owner to be liable when injury results from the theft of the car.  If you leave your car parked but the keys are in the glove compartment and the car is stolen, you could still be liable.  Schwartz v. American Home Insurance Co., 360 So 2d 383 (Fla. 1978).  The amount if time that passes between the car being stolen and the accident is important as well.  Contact an experienced Palm Beach County car crash attorney if you have been invloved in a Palm Beach County car accident with the driver of a stolen vehicle.  You may be able to recover from the owner.