INFORMATIONAL GUIDE, part 3

III. The third question you should ask the claims adjuster prior to giving a recorded statement is: Who owned the car that was driven by the defendant insured?

This information is important to determine who is a potential defendant in your case. It is also important to determine if the driver had permission to operate the car at the time of the collision.  If the driver was not a permissive user of the car at the time of the crash, the insurance company will generally deny the claim. In Illinois, the insurance runs with the vehicle thus the primary insurance carrier responsible for a car crash is the person who owned the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash insurance policy is secondary to the owner’s policy.

IV. The fourth question you should ask is: Was the driver of the vehicle employed and on duty at the time of the collision?

The answer to this question will allow you to investigate whether or not there is an additional pool of insurance to recover money for the damages you incurred as a result of the car accident. In Illinois, an employee who was working for an employer and was on duty at the time of the collision makes not only the defendant driver of the vehicle who cause the collision liable, but the driver’s employer. Under the law in Illinois, this is known as Respondeat Superior. In Illinois the mandatory minimum policy of insurance as a 20,000/40,000 policy. This means that each vehicle is required to carry the minimum amount of insurance in the amount of $20,000 per person, $40,000 per occurrence. This minimum insurance is usually inadequate to compensate most car crash victims for the damages, lost wages, loss of normal life, and pain and suffering they suffer as a result of the accident. By determining if the defendant driver was employed and on duty will potentially disclose an additional insurance policy or pool of money that you may avail yourself to recover if your injuries and damages from the collision qualify for the same.

V. Ask the insurance adjuster: How much property damage was done to the defendant’s car?

As stated earlier, in Illinois it is difficult to recover money damages for injuries because juries have been historically conservative in awarding money damages plus there is a societal bias that every lawsuit filed is a “potential lottery ticket,” when, in fact, in reality that concept is unfounded. The insurance companies have coined an acronym for car crashes where they do not expect to pay a large claim and that is a M.I.S.T. (Minor Impact Soft Tissue) case. The insurance adjuster, in speaking to you before you agree to give your recorded statement, will ask you how extensive was the property damage to your vehicle. Before you disclose that information, isn’t it fair that the insurance adjuster disclose to you the amount of damage done to the insured’s vehicle?

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