Should I sue for monetary compensation?
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Should I sue for monetary compensation?
My boyfriend was driving and I was an injured passenger in a 50/50 at-fault accident. My boyfriends insurance pays my bills. Should I sue the other driver for further compensation or will that only end up having a negative effect on my boyfriend legally and in terms of overall insurance costs? I’ve been going through chiropractic treatment for almost 4 months.
Asked on May 2, 2009 under Personal Injury, Illinois
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 16 years ago | Contributor
If you sue the other driver, he or she will bring your boyfriend into the case as a co-defendant.
I'm not sure how you know that the fault was 50/50, aside from what the insurance companies might have said. That would not necessarily be what happened at a trial, because it would be up to the jury (or a judge, if there's no jury) to decide how much each driver was at fault. Whatever you might win in damages, in the case, would be split between the two drivers (mostly, their insurance companies) in whatever shares resulted from the trial. Of course, the two insurance companies (who would actually be defending the lawsuit) could settle, and agree to each pay half.
In most states, the fact of the at-least-partially-at-fault accident that causes money to be paid out is all that matters, not the amount paid out, when it comes to determining how much the accident affects the driver's insurance rates. You can get more detailed information from a local attorney, and you can find a lawyer at http://attorneypages.com
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