Involved in auto accident with no health insurance

[Vickie L. Spencer]

My son who just graduated from college and has no health insurance was involved in an auto accident on September 16, 2000. The Toyota Land Cruiser, he was a passenger in was forced off the road by a large RV that deceided to change lanes just as the Toyota was passing it. (They were on the interstate here in Montana.) As a result of the accident my son was throwen from the vehicle received 2 fractured vertebrae in his back and one in his neck, a severe concusion as well as numerous cuts and abrasions. He has been house bound and unable to return to work yet. There were 7 young men in the Land Cruiser at the time of the accident one has since died. The police have said that the driver of the Toyota was not at fault but the RV driver was. However, the RV driver never stopped and so far has not been found. The insurance company of the Toyota driver as since contacted my son and said that the med pay coverage was only for a specific ammount and would have to be shared among all the 7 victims. Other than the boy who died my son had the most serious injuries. I always thought that insurace was for so much for each passenger in the vehicle. I am concerned that the amount the insurace company will give my son will not be enough to cover his medical expenses let alone pay him for lost wages. My husband wants to get a lawyer and sue the insurance company or the driver of the Toyota. The driver of the Toyota was not legally drunk but he had had about 2 or 3 beers to drink and none of the boys in the back seat or cargo area of the Toyota had seat belts on. Can we sue the insurance company or the Toyota driver? Would we have a good chance of winning? The lawyer will take one third of what the settlement is. Would sueing be worth it? I am a confused Mom. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[lawrat]

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

First, my heart goes out to you! I know how tough this can be. I have been involved in accidents like these, and it is just very hard.

Ok, you mentioned the driver was not legally drunk but did have two or three beers? If your son got into this guy's car while knowing he had two or three beers, then he can be seen as contributing to his own demise. I.e. you should exercise reasonable judgment.

But, with insurance policies, there is a cap per accident and an allotted amount per injured passenger or person. You need to get a lawyer to attach a majority of the amount to your son to pay for all or most of his medicals. The next thing is to see if you can track down the RV if any of them had any inkling of a license plate or identifying marks on the RV or of the driver even.

Your attorney (a personal injury attorney) will bring forth a suit against both the insurance company, as well as the owner and driver of the car (if same person or not)to make sure you get all of your bills paid. I.e. whatever insurance company doesn't pay, other person (people) will.

Word to the wise: make sure your son is documenting all of his daily pain or discomfort, etc with a daily journal. one done with a tape recorder and dated or preferably one on the computer which is time and date stamped is your best bet.

 

[Vickie L. Spencer]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face=" Arial, Verdana, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lawrat:
I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.

First, my heart goes out to you! I know how tough this can be. I have been involved in accidents like these, and it is just very hard.

Ok, you mentioned the driver was not legally drunk but did have two or three beers? If your son got into this guy's car while knowing he had two or three beers, then he can be seen as contributing to his own demise. I.e. you should exercise reasonable judgment.

But, with insurance policies, there is a cap per accident and an allotted amount per injured passenger or person. You need to get a lawyer to attach a majority of the amount to your son to pay for all or most of his medicals. The next thing is to see if you can track down the RV if any of them had any inkling of a license plate or identifying marks on the RV or of the driver even.

Your attorney (a personal injury attorney) will bring forth a suit against both the insurance company, as well as the owner and driver of the car (if same person or not)to make sure you get all of your bills paid. I.e. whatever insurance company doesn't pay, other person (people) will.

Word to the wise: make sure your son is documenting all of his daily pain or discomfort, etc with a daily journal. one done with a tape recorder and dated or preferably one on the computer which is time and date stamped is your best bet.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dear Lawrat,
Thank-you for your advice. We will document my son's daily pain and/or discomfort. My husband has already photographed all the bruises, scrapes and cuts.

My next question is should we get a lawyer started on this right away or wait to see what the insurance company offeres? The boy who died's parent's health insurance company has already contacted my son and questioned him. They also had another boy in the accident. If we should get a lawyer right away, out of curiosity why?

Thanks again,
Vickie