Personal injury question

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NEVADA My husband was injured in a low impact rear-end accident over a year ago and injured his back. His back has never recovered.. The insurance company will only pay the small claim limit of 5k (the medical bills are just above 5k). They will not acknowledge any compensation for pain n sufferring. I cant get any attorney to accept the lawsuit because their payoff would be too low to bother with it. Im considering handling the matter in small claims. Is it legally acceptable for me (wife) to file my own lawsuit to recover the medical expenses and my husband to file his own small claims action to recover his pain and sufferring? We are only asking the insurance company for 8,000 and they will not negotiate. We really need help here. Our medical bills are now in arrears and my husband really wants to settle so that he can begin repairing our credit but he also does not want to think that he has been exploited. Please help.

The insurance company can only pay up to the policy limits. YOU can not sue for someone else's injuries. But the minimum policy in NV is 15k for bodily injury. So they are messing with you. Your options are to find an attorney willing to take the case, or your husband can sue himself in regular court. In your state, the small claims limit is actually only $3500 but the limit in Justice's Court (next level up) is $7500. He will need to do a lot of research on proper court procedures before going this route.

Thank you for your response. Can you point me in the right direction to handle the lawsuit myself? Something that will tell me step 1 step 2 step 3...I am more than capable of creating pleadings, filing, order to show cause, proof of service...or whatever documents necessary, I only need to have a sample document in front of me so that I can incorporate this case into the appropriate document and file it. I once read that if I file a lawsuit against the person that caused the accident, the insurance company will be more inclined to settle if their insured gets ticked off that they get sued because the insurance company didnt handle business. Im thinking for a measly 8k, this may not need to actually go to court...but the insurance company may just surprise me. Any help?

Not you, your husband. Local law library would be a good place to start. But it HAS to be him. You can't represent anyone other then yourself in court unless you are a lawyer.

I cant handle the lawsuit even if I was also in the accident?...I would in essense be representing both he and I. The problem with a law library is, we live in a remote podunk town in the Nevada desert. THere are no resources available other than the internet.

You can only sue for your own injuries. HE must sue for his. You need to look harder for a lawyer.

Would you by any chance have any personal recommendations with regard to attorneys...possibly in the Reno Nevada area? The reason I ask is it would be risky for me to try and obtain a "local" attorney (in Elko Nevada) because this town is so small...everyone is related to everyone else ...or a hunting buddy of ...or friend of everyone...it makes it very sketchy to try and address tender issues. Thanks again for your advice.

You should broaden your search. Anyone in the whole state can represent you.

quixiotic1 said:

Would you by any chance have any personal recommendations with regard to attorneys...possibly in the Reno Nevada area? The reason I ask is it would be risky for me to try and obtain a "local" attorney (in Elko Nevada) because this town is so small...everyone is related to everyone else ...or a hunting buddy of ...or friend of everyone...it makes it very sketchy to try and address tender issues. Thanks again for your advice.

Click to expand...

While there is no such thing as "Step 1, Step 2, Step 3" instructions, here is the next best thing:
http://lawlibrary.nevadajudiciary.us/selfHelp/pleadings.php

Good luck.