Accident/Insurance Question

[DaveK]

I am located in New York State. My sister died on Jan 8th 2005 as a result of being hit by a car while she was out walking. I secured an attorney in March 2005 to investigate the accident to detemine if there was negligence involved.

The attorney who I secured has not provided me with much information at all in regards to his progress, his strategy or results of any investigation. The only thing that he has told me is that he has been in communication with the insurance company of the person who hit my sister and he is trying to reach a settlement. This has been going on for months.

My questions is. What is a reasonable amonut of time to allow an attorney to complete an investgation and to reach a settlement with an insurance company? I've never been involved with an accident claim like this so I don't know what is considered reasonable or what is unreasonable. It's been 12 months since I secured him and that seems to be an extensive amount of time and he still has not reached a resolution.

[ecmst12]

I don't think it's an unreasonable amount of time, these things usually take at least 2 years. However if you want to be more informed on the process, you can certainly ask your attorney for more information on what's going on.

[DaveK]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Like I said, I've never been involved with an accident claim that involved a death so I apologize if my questions sound uninformed.

Why would it take upwards of 2 years to reach a settlement? Isn't it just a matter of my attorney submitting his claim to the drivers insurance company and then the insurance company either accepts or denys the claim?

[ecmst12]

No. Offer submitted, rejected, resubmitted, negotiated, etc, etc. In most cases the statute of limitations is 2 years and the other insurance company will delay as long as possible without a suit being filed before paying.

[teflon_jones]

The simple fact is that you're paying an attorney for a service and you're not happy with the information you're receiving. You should schedule some time to go to his office and sit down and discuss the case in detail.

[DaveK]

I agree. Good advice. I have a meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Thank you.

[DaveK]

What is the 2 year statute of limitations that is being referred to?

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by DaveK

What is the 2 year statute of limitations that is being referred to?

He was referring to the time one has between the accident and the time the lawsuit is filed, however, in NY, it's three years, not two, so you still have plenty of time.

And don't forget, if you don't like this lawyer, his results, his tie or the plants in his office, you have every right to can him and hire another. (Be aware that Attorney1 may be entitled to reimbursement of any expenses he incurred while working on your claim which would normally come out of any settlement/judgment. Then again, if no suit was filed and no discovery conducted, those expenses should be minimal, if any).

Sorry about your sister.

[DaveK]

Thank you.