Before any crash victim would have reason to ask about who could be the target of a lawsuit, he or she should understand this fact: Submitting a crash claim to an insurance company is not the same as initiating a lawsuit. Furthermore, the filing of a lawsuit does not require pursuit of an effort to sue a selected business or person.

The insurance company should cover the repair costs for the damaged vehicle.

An insured driver with a damaged automobile should notify his or her car insurance company promptly, following involvement in a collision. The insurance adjuster at the defendant’s insurance company might allege shared liability, after investigating the submitted claim.

If the adjuster did come forward with such allegations, the response from the target of those same allegations should consist of contacting an Injury Lawyer in Ottawa.

The contacted attorney could take part in settlement negotiations, once it has become clear that neither the driver nor any of the damaged car’s occupants had suffered injuries. Ideally, the negotiations should lead to agreement on a settlement. The agreed-upon figure would be the size of the payout, the one to be made by the insurance company, and delivered to the plaintiff.

If the 2 sides failed to agree on a settlement figure, then the claimant could become a plaintiff in a lawsuit.

The initiation of a lawsuit would have to take place before the statute of limitations has run out. Each state has its own statute of limitations. The court would recognize the statute in the state where the lawsuit had been filed. The plaintiff’s lawyer would get to work once the filing had been completed.

That same lawyer would seek to strengthen the client’s case, which would also be the plaintiff’s case.

—One of the lawyer’s actions would concern the gathering of evidence. If there were some taped footages of the crash, then that could serve as evidence. Statements from witnesses might give clues, regarding possible evidence, but those statements could not be used at the trial.
—In addition, the plaintiff’s attorney would carry out an investigation. An investigation would involve speaking with witnesses, or with anyone that might have seen or heard any of the events that took place before or during the collision.

The at-fault driver, the defendant would have legal support from his or her insurance company. That same company would be responsible for providing its policyholder, the defendant with an attorney. It would also have to furnish the money for the court ordered judgment.

Before paying any compensation or court ordered judgment, the insurance company would ask for a signed release from the plaintiff/claimant. That request would represent an effort to free the insurer from responsibility for new damages or future complications.