What to Do When There Are Multiple Plaintiffs?

When a person causes a personal injury to you in a car accident, that person needs to be held accountable. The person or entity should pay you compensation for your losses, including lost wages, medical bills, property damage, and pain and suffering. The amount and the type of compensation will vary based upon circumstances of the accident, types of injuries, severity of injuries and more.

If the person or entity will not pay you a fair and just amount for your injuries, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against the party that caused the accident.

However, some accident cases are more complex than others. In a multi-vehicle accident, there can be multiple plaintiffs and multiple defendants.

The Truth of Multi-Vehicle Accidents

There are many accidents where several people could be involved. For example, if it is a cold and icy morning in January, it is possible for someone in another lane to lose control and enter your lane. Several vehicles could be involved in a chain reaction accident with serious injuries. There could be four or five plaintiffs and several defendants.

Another common cause of multi-vehicle accidents is where more than two vehicles hit each other after several rear end collisions. When cars are involved in a rear-end accident, they will often push each other until there is a pile of cars and many cars are involved.

Determining who is liable in these accidents is complicated. Some of them may be caused by one driver that sets the whole accident into motion. But it can be hard to determine which party was responsible for the chain reaction. The best way to move forward in this situation is to collect information from all parties that were involved. This means you should obtain the insurance and contact details for each person and wait for law enforcement to arrive.

Another common multi-vehicle accident is where two vehicles run a red light at the same time and hit a cyclist. In this type of case, the cyclist could file a lawsuit against two defendants. Or, if a group of cyclists is going through an intersection and a car runs a red light and hits several bikers, there could be multiple plaintiffs that sue one driver or more than one driver.

Multiple Plaintiffs

In a case with multiple plaintiffs and serious injuries, it is advised to get your own personal injury attorney. If you do hire a personal injury attorney with multiple plaintiffs, you should disclose to your attorney that there were other parties in the accident. Your attorney may need to coordinate with other attorneys on the case to ensure that you are able to get adequate compensation for your injuries. Insurance policies all have policy limits, and when multiple people have serious injuries, negotiations may need to take place to ensure that each plaintiff in the lawsuit is fairly compensated.

Multiple Defendants

In many multi-vehicle car accidents, and often in accidents with commercial vehicles, there may be several defendants that you can sue. There are many advantages to suing more than one person in a personal injury lawsuit. If more than one party is liable for your personal injuries, it will boost the amount of compensation that is available. This can also be helpful if there are multiple plaintiffs. The more money that is available, the more compensation each plaintiff may be able to receive.

Joint Liability

The amount that each defendant in the lawsuit will need to pay will depend upon if the court finds them either jointly or severally liable for your losses. Jointly liable means that each of the defendants is liable for all damages and losses. Severally liable means that every defendant is only responsible for damages that the court states they are directly responsible for. The parties that are liable for your damages and liability will be determined by doing a complete investigation of the accident. A good personal injury attorney understands the importance of ensuring you receive as much compensation as possible.

Summary

Motor vehicle accidents with more than one plaintiff and/or one defendant are complex events. It takes the work of an experienced personal injury attorney to review the case and determine what actions to take. Depending upon the case, he may advise you to sue one defendant or more than one defendant, and there could be other plaintiffs involved as well. It is recommended to hire a personal injury attorney who is experienced in handling these multi-party lawsuits. Lawsuit Info Center can be a valuable resource for you to find a good attorney in your area.