Vicarious Personal Injury Liability in a Maryland

Maryland law says the general rule is "every automobile driver must exercise toward every other driver that duty of care which a person of ordinary prudence would exercise under similar circumstances". Baltimore Transit Co., v Prinz 215 Md 398 (1958). Makes sense if we intend to keep a sound order to society. Then everyone should act reasonably. If you act in a careless manner and you hurt someone then you are liable for the damages you have caused. So are there situations where someone else’s careless behavior makes you liable? Well in Maryland personal injury law the answer is yes. Negligent entrustment and respondeat superior cases provide examples. Negligent entrustment occurs when the owner knows or should know that the person he is entrusting his vehicle to is likely to use the vehicle in a manner involving risk of harm to others. For example lending your car to a person you know is intoxicated. Then the owner may be held liable Macky v Dorsey 104 Md. App. 250 (1995). Other wise the mere ownership of a vehicle does not impute liability Toscano v Spriggs 343 Md 320 (1996). And as far as respondeat superior is concerned this is when an employer is held liable for the careless acts of their employees provided the act was committed by their employee while acting in the scope of their employment. Oaks v Connors 339 Md 24 (1995).