Suing For Injury During Road Test

A driver can be liable for negligent driving while taking a road test. An employee of New York State Department of Motor Vehicles was injured while administering a road test when the test taker drove into a street sign.  A lawsuit was commenced in the Nassau County Supreme Court against the driver and the driving school where she took lessons (and which owned the car she was driving).  The driver and school then moved to have the case dismissed, arguing that the DMV employee assumed the risk of injury by knowingly getting into a car being driven by an unlicensed driver. The Nassau County judge granted the motion and dismissed the case. The decision was appealed and the case went up to the Appellate Division. The Appellate Court reversed the lower court's ruling and reinstated the case.   The Appellate Court held that:

The fact that the plaintiff knowingly entered a vehicle operated by an unlicensed motorist merely raised a triable issue of fact as to her comparative negligence

Thus it was held that the DMV employee was not barred from bringing her lawsuit, but that a jury could find her comparatively negligent for getting into the car with the unlicensed driver. The case was Harrison v. Crescent Driving School. If you or someone you know are injured in a car accident you should call an experienced NY personal injury lawyer such as Zalman Schnurman & Miner.  All consultations are free and all cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, so there is no fee if there is no recovery. Call 1-800-LAWLINE (1-800-529-5463) for your free consultation with an experienced New York automobile  personal injury lawyer.