I'm curious about my liability if someone else is driving my race car and he/she is injured in an accident. Is there such a thing as a "Release of Liability" that would protect me, my wife and my property in the event of a Lawsuit?

Obviously there are many car owners that have someone else drive their car, just wonder is there a legal document that protects the car owner?

Bob

That is a really good question. You sign a release of all liability when you go to the race track but that does not mean much. The track can still get sued. Common sense says that you should not suffer any liability but common sense is not so common now days......

Not exactly the same scenario, but I happen to be acquainted with a guy that is currently going through a legal issue, related to a racing death. He runs a high end off road program (think Baja 1000, Mint 400) with what's called a Spec TT, basically a Trophy Truck, with a limited engine and shock package. Truck still makes 600+ horsepower and can go about 125 across the desert. A couple of years ago, he had a guy riding with him and they were involved in a single vehicle wreck, during a race. Doing about 100 across the desert, hit a jump/whoop/rut, lost control, truck flipped several times and unfortunately, the other person died from his injuries. The truck owner/driver, was injured, but not life-threatening. Anyway, the dead guy's family is suing the truck owner, the sanctioning body, the Bureau of Land Management (the race was on BLM land) and a list of about 50 other defendants, claiming a litany of negligence and deficiencies. The truck owner is a fairly successful businessman, with a net worth well into the 7-8 figure territory. He had a contract with the deceased, including a liability clause, but his attorney has told him that just because the guy signed doesn't mean his family was bound by it. It's been an ongoing thing for going on two years now, with no end in sight. They have even asked the truck owner to provide records of torque wrench calibrations, because he said the seats were bolted in and torqued to the manufacturer's specifications. Long story short, you can be sued by anybody for anything at anytime. You better hope your lawyer is better than theirs or that you have a rock solid, bulletproof alibi.

Hi Charlie:

Issue #1
I don't have a Lawyer and I'm not hiring one.

I've heard this same issue happening before, ie: the Family suing the car owner. I thought that there might be a way to protect myself, evidently it's not bullet proof.

Bob

Bob, call Laris and get your car insured on and off track, name your driver as co-insured. Once you are on the tracks property you and your driver are insured by the tracks insurance. Piece of cake!

Do-able, thanks Larry!

Bob

No piece of paper will be bullet proof

Get an umbrella policy that will protect you from more accidents than just something at the race track. Usually if a policy is high enough they just go after the policy… its easier

I have a 2 million dollar umbrella and it costs me 600 bucks a year.

Also, with an umbrella policy that’s a decent amount…. The insurance company will most likely help navigate legal issues and lawyers. The insurance company doesn’t want to have to pay out the policy

I would say get chatGPT to make a release of liability, print it, have it signed and notarized. Then get an umbrella policy. No the paper isn’t going to be perfect, but it gives the insurance company legal team something to work with while still protecting you outside of just race cars

Thinking out loud here. You could have the guy sign a release of liability and tell him he is required to have insurance putting it back on him?

Like RecerDude said no paper is bulletproof.

Sad sign of times we live in.

Maybe have the wife sign off on everything also. Just thinking out loud.

Checked the mail this morning. My 2 million dollar umbrella is 514 a year

I can't take the chance that we could be sued, at this age we would never recover, and I absolutely won't be homeless, I've been there. After more research (Lawyer) there isn't a guarantee, it only takes ONE Family member and ONE Lawyer to sue us and we would lose everything.

Thanks for all the responses.

Bob

Don't own the car, own the company that owns the car.

Umbrella policy is about as good/safe as you are going to get. No form or release will give you "immunity" if something happens. Eve if the wife signs off unless he has no other living relatives and even then likely would not hold up. My youngest does accident/injury/negligence law. From talking to her there really is pretty much no piece of paperwork that will insulate you if something happens. Thats why they have insurance companies.

The other side is if you have an umbrella policy it will make it even more attractive to sue and seek a judgement. Kinda like nurses who carry malpractice. If they are in a room where something happens chances are very high they would be named in any litigation, without the malpractice it is very unlikely they would be named as the hospital covers them. Nothing usually to get from them personally. Sorry wandered off topic but people wonder why our healthcare is so high, Id love for people to see what a malpractice premium is for an Anesthesia provider, what my wife does for a living.

Make the driver an owner (1%) of the car, and make him insure it.
Don't rely on anything to do with track or sanctioning body "insurance", they're in the business of avoiding liability.

Everything we have is in a Living Trust, I actually don't own anything. Our Bank accounts seldom exceed $1,000, the upside is we also don't have any debt.

We aren't targets of Lawyers, no money.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by Al Alguire:
Umbrella policy is about as good/safe as you are going to get. No form or release will give you "immunity" if something happens. Eve if the wife signs off unless he has no other living relatives and even then likely would not hold up. My youngest does accident/injury/negligence law. From talking to her there really is pretty much no piece of paperwork that will insulate you if something happens. Thats why they have insurance companies.

The other side is if you have an umbrella policy it will make it even more attractive to sue and seek a judgement. Kinda like nurses who carry malpractice. If they are in a room where something happens chances are very high they would be named in any litigation, without the malpractice it is very unlikely they would be named as the hospital covers them. Nothing usually to get from them personally. Sorry wandered off topic but people wonder why our healthcare is so high, Id love for people to see what a malpractice premium is for an Anesthesia provider, what my wife does for a living.

What’s your wife at for insurance? 20K a year? My wife is an AA

Bob, with respect, I think it's time you sell the car and not worry about racing issues that might happen. Enjoy watching your son race and enjoy your retirement. Just my 2cents. Larry

LLC shell company done

quote:

Originally posted by racerdude2054:

What’s your wife at for insurance? 20K a year? My wife is an AA

The joy of malpractice in this profession is the more years you do it the higher the premiums become. She also does a lot of OB which ups it even more. We are about 3x that amount currently with neve having a claim filed against her in her 21 years of practice. Each OB case requires a rider to be purchased for the child to cover them to adulthood if she decides to no longer practice at that hospital. Some hospitals will provide the coverage and some groups will. Especially for CRNA's and Anesthesia Assistants, but the pay scale is also much less.