Sometimes initiation of a lawsuit represents the only way for a car crash victim to be reimbursed for any losses.
Requirements of court, if victim were to decide to sue the responsible driver
Court would need some evidence that the defendant had been guilty of the 4 essential elements of negligence. Filing of lawsuit must take place before deadline, as stated in the statute of limitations. Normally, the victim’s case would be added to the files of the court that was closest to the location of the injury-causing accident. The above rules would apply in those states that have continued to operate under the old system, the one that relied on an at-fault insurance system
Although the defendant’s insurance company is not sued, it would need to furnish the policyholder/defendant with a defense attorney. In addition, it would have to provide the funds that were needed for the payout.
Why would the victim not sue the relevant insurance company?
According to the law, crash victims/claimants are not allowed to sue the insurance company. In a no-fault state, even the responsible driver cannot be sued, unless the total for all the values of the plaintiff’s injuries were to exceed a given figure. In that case, the plaintiff would be allowed to sue the defendant.
Is there no time when the victim of a car crash has the right to sue the relevant insurance company?
Yes, victims do have the right to take that action, if the same insurance company has been guilty of “bad faith.”
What is bad faith?
That entails an exhibition of improper behavior on the part of an insurer and his or her insurance agency. For instance, an agency’s failure to follow through on a promise would be viewed as an action that was exemplary of bad faith.
Injury Lawyer in Mississauga understands that certain actions that might be made by an insurance company during the negotiations could probably qualify as examples of bad faith. For instance, the failure to come forward with a starting bid, after receiving all the necessary information from the claimant/victim.
Alternately, the failure to furnish the answer to a claimant’s questions could be considered bad faith, if the adjuster had promised to furnish that answer. Smart claimants request a date for when the answer should be available. If the adjuster had not shared the desired answer by that given date, then a lawsuit could be initiated.
By the same token, insurers are supposed to abide by the terms of an issued policy. In other words, if those terms were to promise coverage for a specific type of accident, then the insurer would need to deliver whatever level of coverage had been spelled out in the terms of the defendant’s auto insurance policy.
