Whoever is at fault for your crash can be sued in a car accident case. A personal injury attorney can identify the party responsible and build a case against them.
The reasons for working with a personal injury attorney are many because the circumstances may be numerous around your car crash. Let’s say your car accident happened with only one other vehicle. Is only the other driver of the car liable for the crash? Perhaps.
Maybe your car was hit by a ride-hailing vehicle from Uber or Lyft. Does your lawsuit extend to the company for which the driver worked? That’s what a personal injury lawyer can offer support and guidance on, depending on the circumstances of the accident.
Maybe your vehicle was demolished in an accident with a commercial delivery truck, per the American Bar Association (ABA). The truck may be owned by a third-party truck vendor, and maybe the brakes failed, and you got seriously injured in the crash. Who gets sued? Is it the driver, the delivery truck owner, or the company whose goods were being delivered?
When you hire a personal injury attorney, that is the kind of insight that gets brought to your accident case. That’s why it makes sense to work with an attorney before just settling with one insurance company for your car’s damage and any of your physical damage.
With the help of a personal injury lawyer, you may be able to seek damages from other parties as well. A legal team can work closely with you to determine which party to sue in a car accident case.
When the Driver Was on the Job
When you choose to file a lawsuit against another party for damages from an accident, the lawsuit will generally name the at-fault driver as the defendant. However, others may be involved and have some blame in the accident.
For instance, if the other driver was operating a company vehicle, and was technically working and doing on the clock business, then it might be possible to include the driver’s employer as a defendant in the lawsuit. Adding the employer to the lawsuit is permissible in court cases because the vehicle driver is termed an ‘agent’ of their employer.
The employer will have an insurance policy in place to compensate victims of their employees’ negligence. Basically, if the driver was negligent in his duties to safely drive the car, the court sees the company as being responsible for overseeing the driver.
This doctrine of liability is not foolproof, however. There could be exceptions. If the employee was simply picking up his personal dry cleaning on a lunch run, that would be considered a personal errand, and not one that brings the liability of the company into play.
However, a personal injury attorney will most likely bring the company into the lawsuit if it is possible. This is advantageous to the claim of the plaintiff, as the insurance policy of the company would clearly be much higher than the personal policy of the driver. Thus, the ability to pay a higher settlement may become part of the overall settlement.
Sue a Manufacturer
Here is another scenario for a car accident in which there may be other parties to sue. Perhaps the car accident happened because of a manufacturer defect in the car and not the negligence of the driver. This would turn the case from a negligence case into a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer, per the Legal Information Institute (LII).
Maybe the steering mechanism failed, and the driver crashed into your car. The manufacturer of the steering mechanism, if made by a third party, could possibly also be sued, along with the manufacturer of the car.
Sue an Entity
Lastly, there are accidents such as when, perhaps, a city public transportation bus smashes into your car, demolishing it and sending you to the emergency room. Now the personal injury attorney might name the transportation authority of the city or township liable for the accident. The claim might also include the city and state entities responsible for maintaining public transportation.
You can see how the circumstances of your accident can alter who can be sued in a car accident case. That is why you can seek out a car accident lawyer from Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 223-5115. Our team of legal professionals will help you understand how wide-ranging your lawsuit could possibly be, and what you may be able to achieve in a full and fair financial settlement.
Do not settle for just a small insurance payout after a transformative car accident. Seeking a personal injury lawyer to help you navigate the legal complexities of a car accident could be a winning decision on your part.