LATEST IN THE LAW

A Quick Look at Personal Injury Claim and Available Insurance Pt 2

June 25, 2019 0 Comment Category: Personal Injury

A lawyer will help you sort an unpaying property or business owner by putting a lien on the property in question, so once the sale goes through you are sure to get what is owed to you.

In a slip and fall case, the value of your injury has a direct correlation with the property owner’s insurance. In the case of no insurance, your claim is valued based on the defendant’s personal assets. This can be more lengthy to resolve than when the property owner has the appropriate insurance.

Products Liability Claims

Products liability claim is another instance where insurance coverage plays an important part. These are claims based around defective products. It is rare to see one of the claims where the manufacturer or seller does not have insurance. Even if for some reason they did not have the proper insurance, they would have a large list of assets in which could be used.

If you are pursuing a claim, and you are up against a product manufacturer that does not have liability insurance, it is wise to proceed with a claim against the actual property owner instead. As mentioned, when it comes to claims against property owners, the value of the claim will be determined by the coverage they have.

What Should you Do if the Defendant is Uninsured

A lawyer will want to speed up the process for you to determine the defendant’s ability to pay you a judgment or settlement if you have a personal injury claim and the defendant is uninsured. In case the uninsured defendant does not have any money or assets whatsoever, there is generally no appeal to continuing with your claim, and this is called “judgment proof”.

When deciding to go forward with a claim, it is best when the property owner has assets, in case they are needed when it comes time to compensate you for your slip or fall. People call this theory the “deep pockets theory”.

The deep pockets theory indicates that it is beneficial to pursue a claim, even if it is not as strong, against someone who has assets or insurance than to pursue a stronger case where the person has nothing to offer. In a case where the defendant does not have money or assets, even if you win, there is no way for the defendant to compensate you.