In most Buffalo personal injury lawsuits, the parties can be simply divided into two groups. The plaintiff (or, in some cases, plaintiffs) is the person who is claiming to have suffered injury and is suing for damages. The defendant (or defendants) is the person, business or other entity being accused of having caused the plaintiff’s injury.
While this arrangement encompasses most cases, occasionally a defendant will wish to bring an additional party into the lawsuit. This can occur when the defendant believes the additional party has a legal obligation to pay part of the damages or reimburse the defendant for any damages awarded to the plaintiff. In such cases, the defendant may, in turn, institute its own lawsuit against the new party, which is referred to as a third party defendant.
Because the plaintiff will normally proceed against all parties that may be held responsible, this situation is somewhat rare. It most frequently occurs when the plaintiff has no or very limited legal right to sue the third party defendant, but the defendant does. This can happen, for example, where the third party defendant had some contractual duty to the defendant that it failed to perform which, in turn, led to the plaintiff’s injury.
If you have suffered a personal injury, please call us at 716-542-544 with any questions regarding your legal rights.
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