Who Pays for the Damages in a Vehicle Accident?

Victims injured in car accidents have the right to recover financial compensation for their damages from the at-fault party. Because the right to recover compensation is hinged on being able to determine who is liable, full investigations are essential to finding the at-fault party, or parties, in your case. Additionally, once the at-fault party is determined, it becomes important to understand if and how they can compensate you for your damages.

At Jordan Law, our Denver car accident lawyers have helped many car accident victims protect their right to compensation following when they needed it most. When working cases, our first objective is to determine who can be held at fault, as this dictates who pays for your damages. Depending on the facts and circumstances of your wreck, there may be different parties who can be held accountable, including:

• Another negligent driver
• A company that operates a commercial vehicle
• The manufacturer of a defective auto part
• Government agencies, including public transportation
• Alcohol providers who over serve drivers or serve minors who later cause a crash

Determining fault and liability is only part of the battle. In order to ensure you recover the full amount of compensation you need to cover all of your damages, including your medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, future needs, and more, it needs to be determined if there is sufficient coverage. This includes the coverage of the at-fault part and, if necessary, your coverage as well. The following two examples are common scenarios in car accident cases.

• The other driver has insurance – If the at-fault driver who caused your crash is insured, the insurance company can be tasked with paying out the compensation you need, either through a settlement or as the result of a trial verdict. Insurance companies get a lot of accident claims, so they are extremely aggressive in their efforts to defend against them and minimize payouts. In fact, insurance companies are in business precisely because they maximize payments by minimizing what they pay to policyholders and to victims their policyholders injure. By working with an experienced attorney, you can level the playing field by building a strong claim that clearly shows the other driver should be held liable for your damages.
• The other driver was uninsured – If the other driver who caused your accident was uninsured, or didn’t carry enough insurance to cover all of your damages, you may have the option to file a claim with your own insurance company if you have uninsured motorist coverage (UIM). Uninsured motorist coverage is intended to be the safety net victims need after they are hurt by uninsured or underinsured motorists, of which there are a lot on our roadways. Not everyone has this type of coverage, however, so it is important to check to see if you do. If you do not, it may be wise to consider purchasing UIM coverage.

In every case our legal team handles, we make sure to thoroughly explore all possible avenues we can help our clients pursue in order to recover full and fair compensation. This includes identifying any and all responsible parties – in some cases there may be more than one – and ensuring they have enough coverage to compensate you, or if other measures need to be taken. As a reputable team of award-winning lawyers who have recovered millions of dollars for our clients, our goal is to secure the maximum compensation possible.

To learn more about recovering your damages after you or a loved one has been hurt in a car accident in Denver, contact Jordan Law’s Experienced Denver personal Injury lawyers for a free consultation.