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At fault party and victim on Same policy.

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CaRaycun

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? CA


If a husband and wife are on the same policy, Liability, in CA:

We had a few too many to drink..When my husband pulled the suburban up to pick me and our Designated driver up, (not very bright I know) He jumped out of the truck without putting it in park and the truck moved forward pinning me between the wall and the bumper..Hewas able to back it off but it left me with a broken pelvis lacerated liver and and a now unremovable filter in my heart due to blod clots.I have been out of work for almost two months required some physical therapy hospitalized two weeks.. Our health insurance took care of our trauma bill less 400 dollars and 200 dollars every day of my hospitilization. Total bill is about 2800.00 as that is what our co-pay tops out at per year.I am in constant pain if not on alot of meds. and could be for awhile. Question is since my husband is the responsible party shouldI, could I claim bodily injury to my insurance company and if so how much should i expect?. Also my husband has criminal charges which he plead guilty to and is in treatment possibly before a jail stay. If I claimed bodily injury could the insurance company go after my husband (We are still currently married) since it was a dui with great bodily injury case?
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Usually, your insurance company excludes situations such as you describe from payouts on the Liability end.
 

moburkes

Senior Member
I agree with Zigner. BUT, I was just recently told of 2 other cases (in other states) on this very board, in which the policyholder was able to get liability coverage. Now, expect for the policy to be nonrenewed.

In any case, how much is the per person limit of bodily injury on your policy? Do you have medical payments coverage? That will pay regardless of the circumstances of the accident. Be prepared to reimburse your health insurance company first, since they shouldn't have paid this claim.
 

CaRaycun

Junior Member
Per person the limit is 30k which I also think is the minimum. Not sure about medical payments coverage.. Ill need to check on that..Sorry, I should have explained more.. I have private health insurance with Kaiser..They do not have a trauma center here so I was at a different hospital for almost four days until I was moved out of intensive care and moved toa kaiser facility. My four day stay at this other hospital totalled 45k give or take..Kaiser paid 44k of it and the rest is part of my co-pay as is the 2800 for the stay in the hospital... Im taking my husband off the policy next month anyway as he will not have a license again for awhile..could/ would it be likely discontinued if I was the only one to remain on the policy ?
 
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ecmst12

Senior Member
You may or may not be able to claim BI from your husband's policy; call the claims department and ask them. You can also read through the policy and see if there are any obvious exclusions. Finally, you can consult a lawyer for an opinion. You will have to pay Kaiser back out of any settlement.

Did Kaiser actually PAY 44k or did they negotiate a reduction in the bill? If they paid 44k you may as well not bother, since they get paid before you get a penny, even to cover your out of pocket expenses.
 
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CaRaycun

Junior Member
They did not reduce it.They paid 44k. And my co-pay on that is 400.00 dollars. So I called and checked per your advice with a claims adjuster who said California law states you cannot file a claim on anyone in your household on a liability only policy. Thanks to all for their time I appreciate it..:eek:
 
So I called and checked per your advice with a claims adjuster who said California law states you cannot file a claim on anyone in your household on a liability only policy. Thanks to all for their time I appreciate it..:eek:
i wonder if they have that so people can not abuse it and get cars fixed by having family accidents...?
 

CaRaycun

Junior Member
Sounds reasonable in theory. This was strictly a Bodily injury claim. No car damage :D I wouldn't suspect many people would purposely get hit with a family member's car to make a claim. Ya never know though..
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
The assumption is that a wife would not sue her husband if he did not have insurance...though in your case it sounds like you would!!!

But anyway, the policy is only for 30k, so even if you COULD make a claim, the whole 30k would go to Kaiser and do you no good.
 

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