San Diego, CA asked in Car Accidents and Personal Injury for California

Q: When suing for personal injury (car accident) in small claims court, who do you sue, the insurance, insured, or driver?

The following question is asked with regard to the State of California: As a result of a minor car accident, the injured party, who was not at fault, wishes to take legal actions in order to recoup some money to account for medical bills, pain/suffering etc. After consulting with an attorney, it was determined that a small claims court procedure would be the best and easiest route to pursue. The plaintiff now wonders on who to sue? Is it the insurance that would not agree to the demands of the victim? Is it the insured party over which the insurance claim's process was handled (including the car repair)? Or is it the driver, who was driving the vehicle on behalf of the insured?

2 Lawyer Answers
Theodore Allan Greene
Theodore Allan Greene
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Sacramento, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: Whether you sue in Small Claims Court or Superior Court you would most certainly sue the driver of the car if they were at fault and caused the accident. You might include the owner of the car if for some reason the owner was negligent in allowing the driver to use their car. Sometimes we have cases where the driver was so young that we argue the owner shouldn't have let them use the car. But to sum it up... we never sue the insurance company in the beginning. There are times where an insurance company might end up in litigation but it doesn't appear that you are anywhere near a situation like that.

Randy Bryan Ligh agrees with this answer

1 user found this answer helpful

Randy Bryan Ligh
Randy Bryan Ligh
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Baton Rouge, LA

A: Following up on attorney Greene's excellent comments, I would suggest that if you only met with 1 attorney, then consider contacting a few other injury/accident attorneys in your area for a 2nd opinion and perhaps representation of you for your damages.

1 user found this answer helpful

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.