Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog
After you have been injured in an auto accident, there may be certain things that, as a layperson, you will know are part of a legal action to recover compensation for the harm you suffered. You have to file a lawsuit stating your case. You will also have to serve notice of the lawsuit on the person you’re suing. Then, what happens when the person who hit you can’t be found in order to serve notice on them? These and other potential complications are examples of circumstances when it pays to have an experienced Louisiana car accident attorney on your side, who has the knowledge to know how to handle your case, even when unforeseen potential complications arise.
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One driver and passenger pair faced exactly this challenge recently in their lawsuit. The driver, Claudia, was idling in her apartment complex parking lot, waiting for a parking space to become available. An SUV was behind her. While Claudia waited, a pickup truck came around the SUV and collided with Claudia’s car.
The driver of the truck drove away just moments after the accident. Some time later, the driver approached Claudia and gave her his insurance information. When the time came to sue in order to recover compensation for the damages Claudia and her passenger, Marlon, had suffered, Claudia and Marlon found that the driver of the truck could no longer be located and, therefore, could not be served notice of the lawsuit.
Being unable to serve the at-fault driver in your accident case may seem like a major impediment to success, but there can be other ways to proceed with your case. Louisiana has something called the “Direct Action Statute.” That law says that, under certain circumstances, you can proceed directly against an auto insurance company alone, even when you do not pursue a case against the insured driver. The law allows you to do this when the insured driver is bankrupt, the insured driver is insolvent, the case is between spouses (or is parent-versus-child), or service of process cannot be completed against the insured driver.
In Claudia and Marlon’s case, they had documentation that they were unable to serve the driver of the truck with notice of the lawsuit. That triggered the Direct Action Statute and allowed them to go forward against the insurer alone.
Claudia and Marlon went to trial, and, at the trial’s conclusion, they each recovered the policy limit allowed by the truck driver’s insurance policy.
In this situation, the injured driver and passenger faced a potentially serious impediment. They were able to overcome that hurdle and achieve a successful result because their legal counsel understood how to overcome this hurdle. If you have been hurt in a hit-and-run accident, reach out to the skilled Louisiana car accident attorneys at the Cardone Law Firm. Our team has the extensive experience and detailed knowledge on which you can rely to make sure that you get the compensation the law says you are entitled to receive, regardless of which unexpected roadblocks come your way.
For your confidential consultation, contact us online or phone Cardone at 504-522-3333.
More Blog Posts:
7 Major Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Claim After A Car Accident, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, Jan. 3, 2018
What to Do After a Car Accident, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, Dec. 23, 2018