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SaveNotify Responsible Parties & Potential Defendants
At the start of the personal injury claim process, you don't have to know who was at fault for your injury; you must simply think about who might have been at fault. In the beginning, you don't have to give the people involved, or their insurance companies, any detailed information about the accident or your injuries. All you, or your attorney, has to do is notify them that there was an accident at a certain time and place, that you were injured, and that you intend to file a claim.
The important thing about starting your claim is to not delay too long. Except for claims against government entities, you need not give notice within any specific number of days following an accident. But it is always best to start early, preferably within the first few days, and certainly within the first couple of weeks, after the accident. Consulting with an attorney is the best way to determine how long you have to file a claim. The sooner you get started, the sooner you may be able to settle your claim. Filing a notice of an injury accident with people or agencies does not obligate you to file a claim against them. But if you do file a claim later, they will not be able to say that the claim has unfairly surprised them.
Determining Who Might Be Responsible
Here are suggestions of people you and/or your attorney should notify if you were involved in the following common types of accidents.
Vehicle Accidents
- The drivers of all vehicles involved including the vehicle in which you were riding if you were a passenger whether or not they actually hit you or your car.
- The owners of all vehicles if the owners are different from the drivers.
- The employer of a driver of any vehicle if the employee might have been on company business at the time of the accident.
- The parent of a minor who was driving, or who owned a vehicle involved in the accident, or of a minor who otherwise contributed to the accident.
- Anyone not in a vehicle who contributed to the accident, such as someone jaywalking or a property owner who allowed something to obstruct or interfere with the roadway.
- Your own vehicle's insurance company, if you need to make a claim under your own uninsured motorist, medical payments, collision or coverage.
If You Slip or Trip and Fall, or Are Struck by an Object
- The person who caused you to fall or caused an object to strike you.
- The owner of the property on which you fell or from which the object came.
- The renter of the property on which you fell or from which the object came.
- The owner of the business at which you fell or from which the object came.
- The parent of a minor who caused you to fall or who caused you to be struck with an object.
- The employer of a person who, apparently during work hours, caused you to fall or to be struck with an object, regardless of where the accident occurred.
If You Are Injured by a Dangerous or Defective Product
- The business where you, or someone else, purchased or rented the product.
- The business where you were supplied with the product to use on the business's premises.
- The manufacturer of the product.
Notification Letters
Once you and/or your attorney have determined who might be responsible for your injury, the next step your attorney will take is to write letters telling each of them that the accident happened and that you were injured. This may require some investigation, and letters to several different parties may be necessary for example, if you fell in a store, one letter should be sent to the business where you fell and another to the person who owns the property. For this reason, hiring an attorney, who will have excellent investigative resources at hand, is advisable at this point.
Letters of notification should be sent even if the others involved in the accident have assured you that they will notify their insurance companies. Your notification will be a simple, typed letter giving only basic information and asking for a written response. It should not discuss fault or responsibility, or the extent of your injuries; your attorney will get to those things later on.
Notifying responsible parties and potential defendants will protect you in many ways, which your attorney can discuss with you in detail. One such example is in a case where a government entity or employee is connected with your claim; there are very specific procedures and filing deadlines for claims against governmental entities, with which your attorney will be familiar, and comply, in order to protect your claim.
Copyright 2002 Nolo, Inc.