Uninsured/Out of Luck?

Tennessee

My brother who lived in Mississippi was struck by a drunk driver while working on a truck which broke down on the side of the road. The driver came across the road and hit him, crushing the front of his skull and causing brain injury. The driver, as was my brother uninsured, but the vehicle owner of the car he borrowed was insured.

My brother hired an attorney who never answered or returned his calls. During this time my brother had to have a metal plate put in his skull, suffered depression and severe headaches, he eventually took his own life. He has 4 children and my mother has tried to take up the case, but like my brothers treatment the attorney does not answer calls, does not return them, and when the secretary set an appointment he never bothered to show up for it.

The only thing anyone has been able to get out of him is, " neither one had insurance". My brother's oldest daughter begins college this fall, and the other three are in grammer, junior high, and high school and could really use the help a settlement would give them.

It is my understanding that the vehicle owner and his insurance would be responsible for the accident because he loaned the vehicle to an uninsured, unlicensed drunk driver. Am I mistaken or is there really no recourse since my brother was also uninsured?

Please help me with this, my mother; like my brother, has given up on ever making the other driver and owner take responsibility for the injuries and pain my brother has gone through.

The vehicle owner's insurance should have been responsible for the accident. The crash was not directly responsible for his death and it will not be easy proving an indirect link. I would suggest that your mother(or whoever his next of kin is) consult with another attorney to find out if his survivors have any legal standing to pursue a personal injury action after the victim is deceased.

Rennieh said:

Please help me with this, my mother; like my brother, has given up on ever making the other driver and owner take responsibility for the injuries and pain my brother has gone through.

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Several problems here.
1) As correctly noted by 'ecmst', the vehicle owners insurance should cover the vehicle. And though the condition of the driver is an issue of enhancing liabilty, it has no real direct relevance as to the insurance.
2) The attorney that your brother had sounds like an idiot. Problem is.... only the executor to his estate has legal standing to do anything at this point.
3) Was an executor (personal representative) assigned by the courts to handle his estate?? If so, then that executor needs to fire that attorney and go find a competent one. If an executor has not been designated, that needs to be done before anything can be done, as that is the ONLY person who will have legal standing to take action on behalf of the estate.

As for the 'injuries and pain', unless you can provide a direct causal link between the injuries and his subsequent suicide, the insurance would be liable ONLY for his personal injuries, 'pain and suffering' and property damage, if any.