Last summer I was t-boned in an intersection by a guy who ran a red light. He was also taking his drivers test and had a DMV guy with him. The driver only spoke Spanish, the DMV examiner only spoke English. The license examiner said in the accident report that he saw that the driver was going to run the red light and waited until the last minute to tell him to stop but by then it was too late. I didn't know it at the time but I was driving uninsured. Since I was able to prove I thought I was insured, I have since won my hearing with Oregon DMV and my license wasn't revoked. Can I sue the driver's insurance or Oregon DMV? My car was totaled and I rec'd injuries to my back and neck that are still bothering me 6 months later.

charlotte234s

You could try, but you aleady got lucky to prove you thought you were insured when you weren't, so I wouldn't push the luck, but you should talk to an attorney if you really want to pursue that.

Fr_Chuck

No, the driver not a passenger is responsible, the person taking the test would have had a learners permit, so legal to drive. The DMV was not in control of the vechile, the driver was. if it has been 6 months you should have already filed damages agsint the drivers insurance for damages to your vechile and that should have long ago been taken care of. They should also be paying your medical bills. IF you are read to reach a settlement for damages, (pain and suffering) you can contract them for a settlementa greement

JudyKayTee

Just for the sake of discussion - I agree with the opinions that the DMV is not responsible in this instance. However, if this had a been a serious accident and you would have been seriously injured I believe an Attorney would have brought both the DMV employee and the DMV itself into the lawsuit due to the "he saw the driver was going to run the red light ..." statement - if that statement is an actual quote. It would be the shot gun approach - name everyone, see what sticks - but I think it would have been justified.

It would be interesting to see how a DMV employee is viewed in this situation by the Court and what their responsibility is/might be. There are decisions about passengers who do not warn drivers, some saying passengers have no responsibility to "co pilot" the car, others saying if you see an accident shaping up you have a responsibility to mitigate damages by warning the driver - but that pertains to passengers in that car and, of course, they are not DMV employees.

Interesting scenario/question!

ScottGem

I agree with Judy, this is an interesting situation. Since the examiner was acting in an official capacity he could have been considered negligent for allowing the accident to happen. Therefore, you should file suit against anyone and everyone.

JudyKayTee

And it would appear that the words of the DMV employee ("I thought he was going to stop and so - ") are the exact words that will cause him to lose the action.