The laws governing who is responsible for personal injury or property damages when a Nanny gets into an automobile accident while working for a family are not generally known to parents until an accident occurs.

Under the doctrine of “respondeat superior” (or “a superior must answer”) parents, as employers to their Nanny, can be held vicariously liable for personal injury or property damages incurred in an accident caused by their Nanny for either not providing training to prevent the accident from occurring or not using good judgment in hiring her.

To safeguard against this situation, parents should check the limits of liability on their Nanny’s auto insurance policy to determine if the limits are equal or greater to theirs. This allows some protection against the likelihood the injured party would go to the parent’s insurance company for coverage because their limits are higher. Nannies should also be placed on the parent’s auto insurance policy as a “second driver” to provide coverage should the accident occur while driving the parent’s car.

Who covers the deductible and likely increase in the auto insurance policy premiums after an accident caused by the Nanny? While these decisions are always made on a case-by-case basis, parents should state in the Nanny’s contract that these costs will be borne by the Nanny should she be considered at fault. A parent can always decide otherwise based on the circumstances. What is most important is that the parents and Nanny have an understanding prior to any accident occurring, as to who would be responsible.

Parents should always require that their Nanny use car seats for the children and seat belts for adults, and that she does not drink, eat or talk on the cell phone while driving the children. Both the Nanny’s car and the parent’s car should be kept clean, in safe condition and with the gas tank full. These safety rules should be made explicit before the Nanny begins and be stated in the contract.

Finally, a Nanny should always keep an “Authorization to Drive” form in any car she drives along with other important auto documents. If she is stopped for any reason, she may need to prove to the police officer that she has authorization to transport the children accompanying her in the car.