When our Los Angeles car accident attorneys meet with a client for the first time, we ask them to tell us their story. There are always three sides to a story – Party A’s version, Party B’s version, and the truth. It’s almost impossible to uncover the actual truth. Usually, your Los Angeles accident lawyer has to dig deep until they can find the closest version of the truth possible.
If this truth makes it appear that you were at fault for the crash, your attorney will probably not want to represent you. However, if it appears that your claim is strong, your Los Angeles personal injury attorney will help you pursue the defendants for damages.
Here, we will discuss what to do when there are multiple defendants in your car accident lawsuit. If you still have questions about your own accident case, contact our office directly. You can schedule your free, initial consultation with one of our Los Angeles accident lawyers.
Sometimes, More Than One Party Is Responsible for Your Car Accident
If you have ever driven down the highway on your way to work and seen an accident on the side of the road, it often involves more than two vehicles. This is especially true when it comes to highway accidents.
If you have to drive in Los Angeles during rush hour, there’s always a chance you could get hit by another vehicle. When this happens, it has the propensity to cause a chain reaction. This means that you could have a potential legal claim against several people.
And, until the police and your Los Angeles accident lawyer work out who caused the crash, you have to assume that you’ll need to pursue all the other drivers. At the same time, understand that they may all be planning on doing the same thing to you.
This is why it’s really important that your Los Angeles personal injury attorney is able to prove who was actually at fault. That’s the only way you can expect to be compensated for your injuries.
Your Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney Will Have to Prove Fault
In order for you to collect damages from anybody, your Los Angeles personal injury attorney needs to prove fault. This is the case for each and every defendant. It’s possible that you can have a strong case against one driver and a very weak case against the other. For example, imagine that you are hit from behind by an SUV.
The person driving the SUV claims that they only ran into the back of your car because a tractor-trailer smashed into them. The question here is – who is at fault? Is it only the tractor-trailer driver? Or is the person driving the SUV liable as well?
This is why so many car accident lawsuits settle. It can be hard to unravel the facts to get to the bottom of things. That’s also why so many accident victims choose to hire an experienced Los Angeles accident lawyer.
The Defendants Can Be Found Jointly and Severally Liable
The good thing about having multiple defendants is that there’s a good chance they’ll be found jointly and severally liable. What this means is that the defendants will be responsible for your damages together. It doesn’t matter which one chooses to pay or settle the case.
It isn’t as if the two other drivers will have to split the settlement or judgment. Instead, each one is responsible for 100% of your damages. This way, it doesn’t matter who you choose to pursue. As long as one of the defendants are found liable, a judgment will be issued against them for the full amount. The court doesn’t divide it in half.
Your Los Angeles Accident Lawyer Will Seek Out the Deepest Pockets
If your Los Angeles accident lawyer has a choice of pursuing one defendant over the other, they’re going to choose the one with deeper pockets. This means that, if you sue two drivers and only one has insurance, that’s the one you’re going to go after. You can trust that your Los Angeles personal injury attorney has your best interests at heart. They will do whatever they can to get you the damages you deserve.
Let Your Los Angeles Accident Lawyer Sort Things Out for You
If you’re injured in a multi-car accident, things can become complicated very quickly. You’ll be dealing with not one insurance company, but two. If you do have to file suit, you’ll have to name two defendants in your complaint. Rather than try to keep track of all this by yourself, you should call one of our Los Angeles accident lawyers.
Our attorneys have decades of combined experience with personal injury cases. Having more than one defendant means one thing to us. It means that we have more than one option for pursuing damages. All we care about is getting our clients the compensation they deserve. If that means we sue two or three people instead of one, so be it.
We suggest that you contact our office as soon as possible after your car accident. Our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys work tirelessly to get our clients justice. And justice translates into money. If you were seriously injured in your car crash, you should be compensated for it. In addition to any medical bills, you may be entitled to pain and suffering as well. It all depends on the facts of your case and the seriousness of your injuries.
We offer new clients a free, initial consultation. This gives you a chance to sit down with an experienced Los Angeles accident lawyer and ask any questions you may have. You can also find out if you have a potential claim against more than one person. Since you don’t have to pay anything upfront, you have nothing to lose.