Challenging Non-Party Defenses in Automobile Accident Negligence Claims

Karl Truman

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 315

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When handling negligence claims, plaintiff lawyers are often faced with non-party defenses. This means that the defendant/insurance company claim that someone else who is not a party to the case, caused the injury. Sometimes this is a legitimate defense, but from my experience, sometimes it is not.

Making a claim for a non-party defense allows the defendant to have an "empty chair" and an addition blank space to fill-in on the jury verdict form to place fault on someone else. Therefore, plaintiff lawyers must aggressively deal with the non-party defense in the pleadings and discovery of the case.

When faced with a non-party defense, it is important to determine if the defendant timely named the non-party. There are deadlines for the defendant to name the non-party.

Karl Truman