Can I Sue Someone Personally After a Car Accident?
Motor Vehicles Accidents - December 22, 2021
If you or somebody you love sustains an injury or property damage in a car accident caused by the actions of another driver in Illinois, you should be able to recover compensation for your losses. The vast majority of vehicle accident claims are resolved through settlements with insurance carriers. However, it may be necessary to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver directly. Here, we want to discuss scenarios where it may be possible to personally file a lawsuit against another individual after a car accident.
How Are Most Car Accidents Settled?
After a car accident occurs in Chicago or anywhere throughout Illinois, any crash victim who sustained an injury or property damage will want to recover compensation for their losses. The vast majority of car accident claims in this state and throughout the country are resolved through settlements with insurance carriers.
There are various benefits to resolving claims at this stage in the process. When a case is resolved through an insurance settlement, it will typically reach a conclusion much faster than a claim that is resolved through a civil personal injury lawsuit against the other driver. Most car accident claims are able to be resolved within a few weeks or a few months after the incident.
However, there are various reasons why it may be necessary for a crash victim to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver personally.
You May Need to File a Lawsuit
When making a decision about whether or not to file a civil personal injury lawsuit against an at-fault driver in Chicago, it is important to consult with a Chicago car accident lawyer, and you should consider working with an attorney very soon after your accident occurs. A skilled lawyer can examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the situation and help you determine the best path to securing maximum compensation. An attorney will be the one to handle all negotiations with insurance carriers, and they will also be the one to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver on your behalf.
Some of the reasons that you may need to file a personal injury lawsuit in order to recover compensation include:
- The insurance carrier settlement offer was too low
- The insurance carrier denied the claim altogether
- There is a dispute over who was actually at fault for the incident
For an individual without much legal experience, it may be difficult to decide whether or not filing a lawsuit in civil court is the best route to take. Indeed, there are some cases where filing a lawsuit will not be beneficial. However, for those who sustained serious injuries or major property damage, a personal injury lawsuit may be the only way to recover full compensation. It is crucial for crash victims in Chicago to recover money for their medical bills, lost wages, property damage expenses, pain and suffering damage, and more.
Unfortunately, when a claim is filed in the civil court system, this will likely increase the amount of time it takes for a final settlement to come through. Even though most lawsuits are resolved through negotiations between attorneys before the case goes in front of a jury, this can still take months or even more than a year. If the case does have to go to trial, it may not get there for a year or more.
