So you are telling me that a mechanic could take your vehicle for a joy ride, run into one of his "associates", cause them bodily harm and property damage, and the mechanic and shop are off Scott free? They aren't responsible for anything, their "associate" gets a big pay out from insurance, and the owner is left with the bill?
Now I'm not saying that this couldn't be the case, my question is more, why wouldn't there be any recourse with the mechanic and the shop? In my mind it should be that my insurance pays the "associate" for bodily injury and harm, but that the mechanic and the more specifically the shop will be sued by my insurance provider/me to recoup the entirety of the cost associated with this "accident". But again, I'm not a lawyer or any kind of legal expert, so maybe Arctic Steve is correct. If so, seems like the system is set up perfectly to scam the insurance company and it's policy holders.