Who should I sue for my deductible?

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Who should I sue for my deductible?

The accident occurred in New Jersey. I was rear ended by someone driving a
commercial truck for a company. I went through my insurance and they paid for me
to fix my car, but they took out the money for my deductible. The total
estimate was 625 and my insurance sent me a check for 125. The repair shop
only charged me 500 total for the repair though, so my out of pocket cost was
actually 375.00.

What amount should I sue for? The out of pocket expense or the total amount of
the estimate? Also who should I sue? The owner of the truck company or the
actual driver? My insurance has not been able to recover my deductible from the
at fault party and has waived their rights so I can sue the at fault party
myself.

Asked on February 16, 2018 under Accident Law, New York

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

1) You can only sue for your actual loss: in this case $375. That is how much you are out of pocket.
2) Sue the at-fault driver who rear ended you, since his careless driving (almost invariably, the law considers a driver who rear ends another to have been at fault, since he should have maintained such safe following distance and speed as to be able to stop in time) and also his employer (since an employer is liable for the accidents of his/her/its employees which occur in the course of work, if the employee was at fault). Suing both increases the odds of recovering from someone.


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