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If a delivery driver damages property when making a delivery and the company's insurance refuses to pay, can I sue the driver directly?

Can I sue the company and/or the owner of the company directly?

If insurance is only willing to pay part of an estimated repair bill, can I sue the driver, company and company owner for the remainder? ie. The estimated repair costs are $1400 but the insurance company says they will only pay $600. They have given no rational on how they came up with $600 and have not had anyone come out to provide an alternate estimate. They just somehow decided it looked like $600 in damages based on photographs and aren't going to pay more than that.

Since the amount is relatively small, could these be handled in small-claims court?

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  • One thing to remember, the defendant needs to reside in court that you file with. So this means likely easier to sue the company as they have a presence since they delivered.
    – paulj
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 11:23
  • Keep in mind that insurance companies want to settle claims for as little as possible. They rely on the fact that most people just take the money. Before going to court, you might try written communication with then asking for justification of their $600 offer and providing any documentation you have as to why the settlement should be higher.
    – jwh20
    Commented May 25, 2023 at 12:31
  • Why the downvotes? I'm not asking for advice on how to proceed, I'm just asking in general if I can or not.
    – mikem
    Commented May 26, 2023 at 1:01

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Generally speaking, if someone does damage to you, you can sue for the extent of the damage. There will be arguments about what the actual dollar figure is, and jury (judge) will determine that number is correct. The defendant's insurance company plays a relatively minor (?) role in this process since they may (usually must) provide the lawyer arguing the defendant's side – the insurance company does not have veto power. If you accept a partial payment, you might have waived your right to sue for the rest, but you can hire an attorney to read over everything that you sign so that you don't unwittingly agree to accept a lowball figure.

Since this is a small amount (not a 32 Million dollar class action suit), you can sue in small claims court, which simplifies matters. You have to submit the correct form and sue the right person, and the courts do not tell you who that is. Your attorney will know the answer, and you might be able to find out what the answer is here.

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