If you or a family member were injured or killed as a result of a crime, you deserve to be fully compensated from those responsible. These crimes may include drunk driving injury cases, assault and battery, date rape or sexual assaults, murder or manslaughter, to name a few. In addition to suffering significant physical injuries, crime victims endure unimaginable emotional distress and often can require extensive future medical treatments. While monetary compensation cannot undo the physical and emotional damage that resulted from the crime, it can help you or a loved one begin to get their life back on track. In addition to the actual criminal actor, third parties, such as an establishment, may also be liable in civil court.
Why is it important to identify these third parties that could be potentially liable for the crime?
It may seem obvious that the individual who committed the crime should be held criminally and civilly responsible. However, oftentimes the criminal actor may not have the financial capability to fully compensate you or your loved ones for the injury from a monetary standpoint. Therefore, an experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to identify all the potential liable third parties to seek the financial compensation you deserve from the incident. Other responsible parties, aside from the individual criminal actor, could be the apartment complex, convenient store, gas station, hotel, bar, shopping center, business, or another type of establishment.
How can a third party be held liable for a crime committed by someone else?
Crime victim injury cases and the surrounding caselaw for third party liability are often complex. Most often, your case would be establishing the person or establishment was negligent because that person or business owed you or your loved one a duty of care and breached that duty. At Young & Young, we use our experienced team to uncover every potential third party that is liable for the incident. Our team will not rest until we discover all the facts surrounding the case, which can include videos, photos, police reports, new witness statements, employment records of employees involved in the incident, prior incidents at that location, and much more.
Why should a crime victim hire an experienced personal injury lawyer immediately?
Insurance companies are businesses that are only interested in one thing: protecting the company’s bottom line. Insurance companies know how to build a case as to why you should not be given the compensation you deserve. It is our job as experienced personal injury lawyers to make sure that does not happen. By hiring us right away, we are able to ensure the proper evidence is collected and preserved for your case, including video evidence which may be automatically deleted after a certain time, locking in witness statements, and locating any other evidence that was possibly missed during the police officers’ initial investigation. Even if a criminal actor is found not guilty in criminal court, that person or third parties may still be liable and required to compensate you for your losses in civil court. The recovery process for civil cases is challenging and complex. As experienced personal injury lawyers, we can offer you a free consultation to determine whether you have a case against a third party.