It only makes sense to file a personal injury lawsuit if the party you are suing has enough money to pay compensation for the financial losses you suffered due to their negligence. Personal injury lawsuits are not simply a game of laser tag where you take out your aggression against everyone who has ever done you wrong, nor are they a game of Whack-a-Mole, in which you clobber everyone within your reach until someone gives you money. In fact, personal injury lawyers help clients get their money by filing insurance claims at least as often as they sue. Identifying the parties legally responsible for the accident that led to your injuries is part of most clients’ first consultation with a personal injury attorney. If the driver who hit you is too broke to be worth suing, a Miami car accident lawyer can help you identify other parties that might be legally responsible for the accident.
The Concept of Vicarious Liability
Vicarious liability is where one person or entity is legally responsible for the actions of another. In car accident cases, plaintiffs most often invoke the doctrine of vicarious liability when the driver that hit them was driving as part of his or her job, and the vehicle belonged to the employer. For example, if you get into a collision with an Amazon delivery van and suffer serious injuries, you have the right to name Amazon as a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit arising from the accident.
The owners of personal vehicles are sometimes, but not always, responsible if someone else causes an accident while driving the owner’s car. It depends on whether the driver who was driving at the time of the accident had permission to drive the car. If the driver was included on the vehicle owner’s insurance policy, you have a strong case. If the car that hit you was a stolen vehicle, you cannot name the legal owner of the vehicle as a defendant in your lawsuit.
You Have Never Heard of a Dram Shop, But You Know the Harm That They Can Cause
Drunk drivers cause many car accidents, including nearly a third of fatal collisions. One type of vicarious liability that applies specifically to alcohol-related traffic accidents is dram shop liability. A dram shop is a nineteenth-century term for an establishment that sells alcohol; today, they are called bars. Dram shop liability laws enable you to file a lawsuit against the bar that sold alcohol to the drunk driver that caused your injuries, even if that drunk driver was you. To win a dram shop case, you must demonstrate that the bar employees should reasonably have known that you were too drunk to drive but still continued to serve alcohol to you.
Contact Gerson & Schwartz About Car Accident Cases
A car accident lawyer can help you if you are struggling financially after a car accident caused by a company vehicle or a drunk driver. Contact Gerson & Schwartz in Miami, Florida, to discuss your case.