California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog

FAQ: Can I be sued for my spouse causing an accident?

Q: My spouse is an alocholic. Can I be sued if he causes an accident?

A: Yes. You can be sued up to the statutory limit if you are a registered owner of the car. If, however, they can prove "negligent entrustment" (a fancy term for you negligently letting him use your car) then they can sue you for the full value of the case.

You can protect yourself by getting your spouse help and trying to limit his opportunities to drive while intoxicated.

FAQ: The other person did not have enough insurance. What do I do?

Q: I was involved in an accident and my car was damaged. The other person did not have enough insurance to pay for my repairs. Now what?

A: Hopefully, you have collision coverage. If you do, then you can go to your insurance company and get them to pay for the damage to your car.

If you do not, you have two options. First, you can take the other person's insurance company money and not have enough to fix your car. Second, you could file in small claims court without taking the insurance company's money and then try to collect the difference from the other person directly. (Go see my prior post about trying to collect money from these people after a small claims court case.)

FAQ: How do I get the other person's insurance information?

Q: I was involved in a collision. I did not get the other person's information about his insurance company. I am injured now. How do I get the insurance information?

A: When you are involved in an accident, you need to get the insurance information right away. If you cannot, or if the person does not have it with them, you need to get their name, address and license plate number so that you can complete the SR-1.  The SR-1 is the DMV form that must be completed within 10 days of an accident if there is more than $750 in damage or someone is injured. You would then wait 20 days and submit an SR-19. Failure to send in an SR-1 can result in your license being suspended.

If you do not do this, you will have to pay a service to get the insurance information of the other party. This can be expensive, so make sure you get it as soon as possible.

Buying Wrecked Cars

I tell my clients that once their car has been in a wreck and declared a total loss, they should give it to the insurance company. The car will never be fixed to your standards again so why deal with the hassle? Let the insurance company deal with it.

Well, at least as far as State Farm is concerned, "dealing with it" may mean selling it back to the public - without the proper title. OOPS! State Farm has apparently sold 30,000 of these vehiclees without the proper title and they are now being sued for failing to disclose this.

Apparently, the fine folks in the state of Indiana got a better deal: the car was bought back for book value at the time they purchased it, plus cost of repairs plus finance charges. There is a global settlement with the other states and some people have opted out.

This is an unbelievable issue. How on earth State Farm could sell these vehicles without the proper title is beyond me! Chalk this up to the insurance companies, once again, thinking they don't have to play by the same rules.

FAQ: I am being sued for more than my insurance. Now what?

Q: I was in an accident. I have a 25/50 policy ($25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident.) I am being sued for personal injury for more than that amount. Now what?

A: It depends. If the insurance company had a chance to settle the case within your policy limits and chose not to, then they will be on the hook for the total judgment. (There is a great case that says that the insurance company cannot gamble with their insured's potential judgment.)

However, if there was never a chance to settle, such as where the other person's injuries are worth $250,000 instead of $25,000) then you could potentially be liable for the excess judgment. If this is the case, you need to have a long talk with the insurance company and their attorney and possibly even a private attorney that you pay for. You need to discuss the risks of an excess judgment and how this will affect you and your assets.

FAQ: I have a judgment. Now what?

Q: I had to sue another party. I have a small claims court judgment. Now what?

A: The law requires that the defendant submit a statement of income and assets to you. However, this rarely happens. Usually, you will have to set a debtors examination and require him or her to bring documents to court. Failure of a debtor to do this usually results in the court issuing a bench warrant for the debtor.

Of course, this is why attorneys prefer cases where there is insurance. It makes collecting a judgment a lot easier.

FAQ: My HMO paid my medical bills. Do I have to pay them back?

Q: I was in an accident. My HMO paid my medical bills. I am now settling with the other party's insurance. Do I have to pay back my HMO?

A: Most likely, they can be reimbursed for money they paid for your medical bills. This is sometimes called a right of reimbursement. It means the HMO, or the insurance company, can recover for medical services they paid for if you recover from the at fault party.

In order to analyze this, you need a copy of your plan. If the settlement is not including all of your medical bills, you may be able to argue to the insurance company that they should not be reimbursed in full either.

Don't pay someone at the scene of an accident

Do not, and I mean never, ever, pay someone at the scene of an accident. Just don't do it. Nothing good will come from it. A few situations:

A - You pay someone for "minor damage." You don't have them sign anything. It turns out that there was more damage. You are going to be stuck for the additional damage.

B - You pay someone for damage. They wake up the next morning and are in pain. They go to the doctor. Your payment to them can be used as an admission of fault.

The only time someone should be paid for an accident is if the paying party receives a full release. Unless you carry these with you, do not pay someone at the scene of an accident!

FAQ: My insurance says I am at fault. I don't think I am. What do I do?

Q: My insurance company says I am at fault for an accident. I don't think I am. What can I do to fight this?

A: Your insurance copmany has the right to settle any claims and make the determination of fault. If you disagree, ask them to send it to you in writing. (They are required to do this by the California Fair Claims Practices Act.) After you get this, ask them to reconsider their determination. Then, file a request with the department of insurance and ask them to review the fault determination.

FAQ: I was sued by an insurance company and didn't know. What do I do?

Q: I had no insurance. I got in an accident. The other person's insurance company sued me. I moved and didn't know about it and now they have a judgment. What do I do?

A: You need to go down to the court immediately and get a copy of the file. If a default judgment has been entered, there would be a hearing to determine the amount of the judgment. If that is done, you may be able to set it aside.

But, you say you weren't served. You may have been served by publication and could potentially set this aside on that grounds. However, you need a copy of the court file to review with an attorney to discuss your options!