Rear ended by a dump truck while stopped at a red light. veh. Struck me twice. I would like to know, if i can settle with the auto insurance carrier and also submit a civil litigation against the company, because the veh. was put out of service due to bad brakes and not enough tread on a tire.
This happen while on the job. I am a police detective.
Attorney, Cliff Horwitz:
You can only recover once. Hence, if you settle with the insurance company, your case is over. However, there are exceptions. If you recover just for the property damage and want to later pursue the personal injury aspect of the claim, then you must have specific language set forth in your release.
The release would indicate that you are only partially settling the case and that you are only settling for property damage. Further, it must indicate that your rights to seek damages for personal injury would remain open.
This would work under Illinois law. I have not reviewed the laws of your state, however