Workers' Compensation

Being Sued? Litigation Defense

Are You Being Sued or Involved in Litigation?

If you are being sued and have not yet retained an attorney, you should contact this office to determine what, if any, rights or defenses you may have with regard to the lawsuit. In certain cases, you will have to retain your own attorney to defend your interests, however, in other cases, you may already be entitled to free legal representation and indemnification, should a judgment be rendered against you under certain insurance policies. For example, if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident and someone is suing you, your insurance company is normally obligated to handle the litigation on your behalf and pay any judgments or awards that may be rendered against you, subject to the terms and conditions of the insurance policy. If someone sues you for an incident which took place in your home or on your property, and you have homeowners insurance coverage, the insurance company may be obligated to defend you and pay any judgments that may be entered against you, again, subject to the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.

If you are involved in litigation and your insurance company is representing you, it still may be advisable to seek out your own personal attorney to represent you for any claims which may not be covered by your insurance company, or for claims which exceed your amount of insurance coverage. For example, let's assume you are involved in an automobile accident and you have $50,000 in coverage and there are four (4) people that are injured and are making claims against you. Will you have enough insurance to pay for all of their claims? In the event that your amount of insurance doesn't cover any judgments that are rendered against you, you may become personally responsible for any amount of the judgment in excess of your insurance policy. In other words, if you assume that each of the four (4) people have a claim worth $25,000, the most your insurance company is going to pay is $50,000 - you could then be responsible for satisfying $50,000 in claims on your own. It is a scary proposition, however, there are things that you may be able to do to attempt to protect your interests and to make sure that the attorneys retained by your insurance company are doing their best to protect your interests from any excess awards or judgments.

Whether you are being sued, involved in current litigation, or may be sued, please feel free to contact this office for a free initial telephone consultation.