Car Accident Lawyer

In every state, all drivers must carry a minimum amount of car insurance coverage. This means that, ideally, if an accident occurs, the insurance company will cover the costs of economic and non economic damages. However, there are a limited number of circumstances under which a person may be able to personally sue the other party after a collision. To find out whether this is true for you, please call a car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Call a lawyer, like a car accident lawyer from Barry P. Goldberg, now. 

Recovering Compensation Through Insurance

Depending on the state in which the accident occured, you may be facing fault or no fault rules. In no fault states, you will recover a claim against your own insurance company. Whereas, in fault states, the at fault party will be responsible for covering the damages. In no fault states, it is certainly possible that your economic damages, such as medical bills, will exceed the policy limits of your car insurance. In this case, your health insurance might cover some or all of the costs, or you may accumulate debt. 

At this point, it may be possible to submit a claim to the negligent party’s insurance company. In some cases, especially when the accident is severe, the other driver’s policy limits can be used. In general, when you’re in a situation like this, a car accident lawyer might recommend that you sue the driver personally for your injuries. This can be complicated and difficult to do without the help of a good lawyer on your side. 

Suing Someone Personally Following a Car Accident

In general, when negligent drivers’ policy limits have been reached, it is possible to sue them. In this case, you could attempt to recover compensation from the driver in a court of law. You would have the duty of proving they were negligent. This requires you to establish the following:

Duty of Care- The other driver owed you a duty of care; for example to drive safely. 

Breach of Duty – The other driver failed to adhere to this duty of care. 

Causation – This breach caused you to be injured.

Damages – Because of the accident and your injuries, you suffered damages such as medical bills and the inability to work. 

If you are facing extensive medical bills and other losses, and you are unable to get the insurance company to cover the full cost of them, it may be possible to sue someone personally for a car accident. 

What If the Person Has No Assets?

In the event that you do sue someone after a car accident, and win, and they have no assets, you might find yourself struggling to collect the settlement. Unfortunately, as a car accident lawyer might explain, most people who are uninsured or underinsured are in this situation because they cannot afford insurance. In this case, they might also be unable to afford paying any kind of settlement after being personally sued in court. 

Regardless of the situation you have found yourself in, it may be a good idea to speak with a car accident lawyer as soon as possible.