Should I pursue a lawsuit?
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Should I pursue a lawsuit?
A 17 yr old hit me from
behind, causing me to hit
the vehicle in front of me.
The accident was her fault.
My car has been totaled and
my insurance company is
offering 3000 less than
what I still owe on the
vehicle. I have minor bumps
and bruises, with sore back,
shoulders and neck. I was
cleared at the ER. I have a
rental car allowance for
only 5 days.
Asked on April 18, 2017 under Accident Law, North Carolina
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
The property damage claim is separate from the personal injury claim.
Since settlement offers for your property damage claim are unsatisfactory, your only recourse is to sue the at-fault party for negligence. You should name the minor and her parents as defendants in your lawsuit.
You may need additional medical treatment because physical therapy is usually necessary for the injury to your back, shoulders and neck in a rear-end collision.
When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in your treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports, and documentation of wage loss. Your claim filed with the at-fault party's insurance carrier should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If your personal injury case is settled with the at-fault party's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the at-fault party's insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the at-fault party and her parents.
If the case is NOT settled, your lawsuit for negligence must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
You should file one lawsuit for your property damage and personal injury claims. Therefore, you should wait on filing the property damage lawsuit mentioned above until your personal injury claim is settled or also needs to be litigated and can be included in the same lawsuit.
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