Perhaps you have been injured in an accident and someone else is to blame. Even though you truly believe you should be compensated for your medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses, the thought of suing the responsible party for your damages makes you feel extremely uneasy.
It is important to keep in mind that at the outset of a personal injury case, whether it is an automobile accident or a slip and fall accident, you are simply filing a claim against the at-fault party’s insurance policy. The vast majority of these cases settle before a lawsuit is ever filed.
In most cases, you are not actually attempting to recover compensation from any individual person’s assets. Your claim will never cause any individual to lose their home. Instead, you are attempting to recover compensation for your injuries from a multi-billion-dollar insurance company, not an individual person.
The entire basis of the insurance industry is that every person or corporation pay a small amount of money in the form of insurance premiums in order to help spread the risk when something goes wrong. Therefore, that person or corporation will most often not be directly affected if a claim is made against their liability insurance policy.
In Florida, automobile drivers are required by law to carry certain minimum insurance coverage in order to operate their vehicles on public roadways. In addition, businesses and homeowners typically carry liability insurance in the event that a personal injury accident occurs at their place of business, in one of their vehicles, or at their home.
Even if you are unable to obtain a fair settlement offer from the insurance company and a lawsuit must be filed for your injury case, you are still not necessarily pursuing the at-fault party’s personal assets.
Once a lawsuit is filed, the insurance company for the other party will provide that person or corporation with an attorney that is paid for by the insurance company to defend the lawsuit. The insurance company pays all of the litigation and defense costs. Rarely will the defendant or defendant corporation have to pay anything out-of-pocket for claims made against them.
If you have been injured in any type of accident, and you are unsure if you should pursue a claim for damages against the at-fault party, contact our office for a free consultation. We have experience negotiating settlements with insurance companies and we will work diligently to obtain a fair settlement for your claim.