Car Accident Lawyers
Can I Sue Someone Personally After a Car Accident?
After experiencing a car accident, the months and sometimes even years ahead are difficult. As well as trying to recover from injuries, you have to deal with insurance, settlements, cases, evidence, lawyers, and more. In the vast majority of cases, victims get the compensation they deserve through the insurance of the other driver. Normally, your lawyer ensures that the compensation amount is enough to cover:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Future medical bills
This being said, suing the other driver personally could be an option depending on the circumstances of your case.
Can I Sue Someone Personally?
Over the years, we’ve seen many cases where the insurance company fails to offer a fair settlement. As your personal injury lawyer, we’ll assess the damage and how the car accident occurred. From here, we’ll calculate an appropriate settlement based on your injuries, medical bills, the time you’ll need off work, and various other factors. In an ideal world, the insurance company would consider the same things and offer a fair settlement for all.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an ideal world and insurance companies commonly offer a low compensation amount, don’t want to negotiate, or deny the claim completely. Since you can’t sue the insurance company, the obvious step is to litigate against the driver.
Can you sue the driver? This depends on the seriousness of the car accident. Common examples of negligence worthy of litigation include reckless driving, drunk driving, drug driving, drag racing, sleeping at the wheel, driving while using a mobile phone or another device, and excessive speeding. If the case isn’t settled outside of court, your legal team will gather evidence and build a case strong enough to succeed in front of a judge/jury.
Types of Car Accident Litigation
Generally speaking, you’ll have two options:
1. Suing Personally (Personal Injury Claim)
Firstly, you could sue the other driver personally for their negligence. If the other driver doesn’t have insurance, this could be the first step. Yet, it’s important to show caution because not many uninsured drivers have the assets required for a lawsuit. Even with a big victory, there’s no guarantee that you’ll receive an appropriate amount for the car accident in question.
If the driver does have insurance, it’s all about proving fault and liability. When on the road, all drivers have a responsibility to follow road laws and drive sensibly. If the driver failed to do this, you could have a case against them. We recommend getting in touch with a Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer as soon as possible because the statute of limitations varies from one state to the next. Also, waiting makes it harder for your car accident attorney to gather evidence and build a strong case.
2. Uninsured Motorist Claim
If hit by a driver without insurance, the good news is that you may have UM/UIM (Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist) coverage through your own insurance policy. These days, you need to actively opt out of this feature. Therefore, most people have it on their car insurance without even realizing it. Again, this may not recuperate the full amount, and this is why talking with a car accident attorney is so important.
Best Options After a Car Accident
You CAN sue personally after a car accident, but the success of this process varies wildly. If the guilty party has no insurance, this suggests they also have very few assets which means that even a victory won’t yield much. The best thing you can do is talk through your situation with a car accident attorney since they’ll know the best route for YOUR case!
