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Pursuing Auto Insurers After You or a Loved One Has Been Injured in an Illinois Auto Accident

| Mar 20, 2019 | Automobile Accidents

When you are facing a situation where you’ve been hurt in an auto accident, identifying the right parties to pursue in your injury accident lawsuit can be vital to obtaining the outcome you need. In an injury accident, one of the entities (or sets of entities) that can be a very proper place to look is the auto insurance company (or companies) who may have an obligation to provide coverage. Many times, if an insurer’s obligation to provide coverage and pay a claim is not very obvious, the insurance company may fight aggressively to avoid paying anything. Fighting back against an insurance company that isn’t acting as it should is yet another area where your skilled and determined Chicago injury attorney can help you get to the end-point you desire.

An accident near Peoria presented this kind of challenge for one family. The crash was one that took place shortly before 1 a.m. one August night. The driver, M.S., was 16 and had only a restricted driver’s license. She was driving a car owned by the mother of her friend, M.R., and whose keys she had obtained from M.R. (The two girls disputed whether M.S. had permission to have the keys.)

Eventually, M.S. crashed the 2004 Pontiac into several parked cars. One of her passengers, M.H., was seriously injured, suffering a severe traumatic brain injury. M.H.’s mother sued on his behalf to recover damages.

When you’re facing a case like this mother was, there can be multiple places to look in terms of seeking compensation. One option would be the insurance coverage provided to M.S. or her parents, since she was the one who was driving and whose collision with the parked cars led to M.H.’s severe injuries. Another possible place, though, would be any insurance held by M.R.’s mother as owner of the Pontiac. In this instance, M.S. and her family had no auto insurance. M.R.’s mother was insured, having a policy with Liberty Mutual. The policy provided coverage for the Pontiac if M.R.’s mother was driving or if anyone else was driving the car with permission.

M.H.’s mother sued M.S. The insurance company took no action, even though it would later concede that it should have provided a defense in the case.

That type of failure opens up some additional options for plaintiffs in positions similar to M.H.’s mother. Not only can you obtain an award in an amount equal to the policy limit on the owner’s insurance policy, you can also obtain an additional sum of money from the insurer to compensate you for the inappropriate delay in your receiving payment. In M.H.’s family’s case, that meant that they received the policy limit under M.R.’s mother’s policy and they received interest in the amount of 9% per annum starting at the date of the judgment against M.S., which meant a period of nearly four years.

Each auto accident injury case is different, but many involve the need to take on an insurance company that is improperly balking at paying. To overcome an insurance company that is usually well-defended by powerful attorneys, you need your own powerful and aggressive legal counsel. For your injury accident needs, contact the skilled Chicago injury attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. Our attorneys have been helping injured passengers and drivers for many years and are here to help you. To set up a free case evaluation, contact us at 312-724-5846 or through our website.

More Blog Posts:

What Can I Do if I’m Injured in an Illinois Auto Accident Caused by Another Driver’s Road Rage or Aggressive Driving?, Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog, March 6, 2019

Pursuing an Illinois Wrongful eath Case Arising from an Auto Accident, Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog, June 8, 2018

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