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 Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 12:14 am Post subject: complex auto accident - devastated |
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I was the driver of a vehicle that was owned and insured by my ex, listed as a driver. I was "given" the vehicle to transport our children to school etc. In September 2009, a restraining order was placed on him due to a home situation. In October 2009, my sticker was about to expire so I went to the auto insurance company to make the payment and get everything up to date. By chance, he was there, so I motioned the insurance agent outside to explain the situation, she took pictures, and assures me my ex had paid up and I was good to go. I took care of the stickers and thought all was well.
In Feb 2010 at 9am, I was on the way to my college. It was the beginning of bike week and there was tons of tourist traffic on the busy road I was traveling. I was coming up to a dangerous intersection when suddenly I saw a car coming head on in my lane...I was going to pull right but there was a vehicle there. To my left was an upcoming turn lane. There did not appear to be oncoming traffic, so in my panic thats where I steered my car. Unfortunately, I had not seen the car that was turning into that same lane and we collided. The car I was trying to avoid never stopped. My car was totalled, and I suffered 2 broken legs, a broken hip, all my ribs fractured, one lung was punctured by a rib and the other collapsed. Luckily, no one else was hurt, but there was property damage. I almost died.
My hospital bills, as you can guess, are more than I could afford in a lifetime...and just as I was coming out of my coma I discover my insurance had been cancelled 3 months prior. My ex blew off the payments and now I am being held at fault for everything. I can't get a lawyer at all and I don't know the first step to take to make things right and also so I don't lose everything I have. Thank you ahead of time for your assistance.
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jenijune
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| Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 5:31 am Post subject: |
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I hate to even bring this up but... you were driving someone else's vehicle that you not only did not date any longer but had a restraining order on.... you did this for a year????You then took for granted that he was going to keep paying the insurance on the vehicle for a year??? At what point did you think this was all going to be golden?
You were driving someone else's vehicle without insurance. If you feel you were not at fault you will need to provide yourself with a defense. There is no magical answer to your situation. Sorry to say, you made some really _bad_ decisions and failed to correct them over several months.
The other insurance company may offer to accept payments. They may just turn it over to a collection agency.
If you can't pay the property damage or your medical bills you may want to consider other financial options. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:14 pm Post subject: complex auto accident |
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Tcope:
You are right...I made some really, really bad decisions. We lived together for over 10 years and had children, it was more than a casual dating relationship. The vehicle was in his name, but I put significant investment in it too. It was "our" vehicle.
I am not trying to blame this all on him...it is only part of the picture. I am usually a cautious and intelligent girl...my problem is I trust too much. If I had recieved, as a listed driver, as I believe I should have...notification from the insurance co. that payments were behind...I would have taken care of it immediately.
I know there is no magical answer. I just thought someone out there may be able to point me in the right direction. No one saw this "phantom car" but me, and feel like I've been put in a very unfair position. But fair or not, I want the other drivers who were affected to be taken care of as well as myself. Unfortunately it may be out of my own pockets.
Thanks for your reply, have a good day.
Jen
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jenijune
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| Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | If I had recieved, as a listed driver, as I believe I should have |
The insurance company was given an address to send notices to... they did just that. They can't be expected to look at every driver on every policy that is going to cancel and search for addresses on these people. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 11:12 am Post subject: |
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If it's any consolation to you at all...most states will hold the owner responsible as well... | Quote: | | In October 2009, my sticker was about to expire so I went to the auto insurance company to make the payment and get everything up to date. By chance, he was there, so I motioned the insurance agent outside to explain the situation, she took pictures, and assures me my ex had paid up and I was good to go. I took care of the stickers and thought all was well. |
How long did she say the policy was paid up until? If only a month, then you should've checked back..or did she say he had paid the entire six month premium? What exactly did he pay this date?
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Lori
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| Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 5:37 am Post subject: |
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Thank you for the response...I guess either way I should have checked up. To be honest, after a 14 year relationship, I never expected him to just drop payments and not take care of us. In the midst of the confusion, as the other poster stated, I did make some bad decisions. I had thought the payments were for 6 months, but I guess I was wrong. Payments were dropped the next month. Do you know of any other resources I could look into? Thanks again for your time and help.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
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Jenijune
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| Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 5:46 am Post subject: |
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If your looking for a way to obtain coverage, I don't know of any and I really don't know of any recourse you would have. I'd certainly still file a claim with the your prior carrier and obtain a written denial.
Not to beat a dead horse but you mention that you obtained a restraining order against your ex but that you saw no reason why he would not continue to pay for insurance on a vehicle only you were using.
Without health insurance you'd need to address your medical bills as well. I'm no expert on finances but some type of bankruptcy might be your best bet. As I understand it, the laws on this have changed and it might not be possible to simply walk away from most debt. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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Hello,
Thanks again for your replies. I know this situation is hard to understand. For tcope, when this all went to court( to decide about the restraining order), the judge also granted me the house, the car and 100% custody of the children whilst the injunction was in order. I did ask, right then and there if my ex would continue to make the payments for rent and car whilst we were apart (no specific time frame was given). My ex volunteered "yes" under oath. By the next month, when I went to check on the insurance and he was there, making the payment, I assumed (unfortunately) when the agent said everything was paid up, that he would be making the payments. Before this, I was a stay at home Mom and he controlled the money, and he has plenty of it. Ironically, I was on my way to my new college classes trying to get my life back together (ei. not have to depend on him for ANYTHING) when this accident occured. I was not trying to take advantage of him or anyone, and I praise God my children were safely at school when this occured.
To get back to my questions...I have a new one. I recieved a letter that listed everyone involved in the accident. It is encouraging everyone to sign it, saying noone shall be sued by each other now or in the future regarding the accident if we do. I never intended to sue anyone else because the initial driver who caused the accident was never located. Is this something I should do? It is from the Highway Division of Financial Responsibility. Does this sound legitimate? I know I need to make some of my own phone calls but just wanted to see what people in general would think, or if anyone had been in a similar situation. Thanks again for youe time.
~~Jennifer~~
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jenialexi
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| Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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Jennifer, does this letter (which I've never heard of coming from the dept of ins. by the way  )...say that failure of one party to sign wil negate the entire agreement? Is there anyway you can remove any and all personal information and post this here? If not and you want to PM me with it I can remove those things and post it.
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Lori
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| Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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Lori, I do believe that it did say if one party disagreed, it would negate it. Unfortunately, a couple days later I recieved a summons for property damage from one of the listed parties - so I believe this option is unavailable now. Would you still like me to post it? If it would be helpful to others I certainly will. Let me know!
~~Jennifer~~
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JeniSprite
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| Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:50 am Post subject: |
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sure, it would be helpful..I've never seen what you're talking about, (issued by the state)..and would like the chance to review it.
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Lori
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| Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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Lori...I think I'm going to have to end up getting a lawyer, one appointed by the court. But first, I need to respond to the summons by mail (or fax)...do you have any idea who the best person would be to help give me an idea what to say? Do I respond one by one to the supposed reasons listed stating why I am guilty or percieved to be guily? I am so confused.
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jenijune
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| Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Lori...I think I'm going to have to end up getting a lawyer, one appointed by the court |
From what I recall, this is a civil matter nit criminal. The court does not pay for attorneys to defend in civil matters (this is why people have insurance... it pays for a defense).
You mentioned that you received a Summons... was this a Complaint and not a Summons? It should say in the upper right boxed area. If this is a Complaint you have so many days to file a legal Answer otherwise you may loose by default.
I did not mention this before but it seems like you may have a case against your ex if he was supposed to maintain insurance on the vehicle. He could (should) be brought into a legal matters regardless. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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jeni-as Tcope said, we need to really know 'what' this is, and how it's filed.
Did a process server come to your house and serve you? Do you see a COURT (or docket), date, time, which court, etc? What is the date you MUST respond by?
We need more info to be able to help you Jeni.
Oh, and Todd, re: | Quote: | | The court does not pay for attorneys to defend in civil matters (this is why people have insurance... it pays for a defense). |
I would've said the same thing, but, just within the past three months in my own family, I learned different....get this..  ..My adult, niece's piece of well you know...'father' (aka: sperm donor) of her five year old son..hasn't seen the child since he was six months old, NEVER paid child support EVER, has served time in prison (not jail, and not child support related)..real piece of work...anyway, niece marrys a great guy that she has been with since baby was about 9months old...been married two years, so she and husband get atty and go to court to allow husband to legally adopt son, (clearly civil)...well sperm donor fights it...AND is given a state appointed, FREE atty to do so with (legal aid, court appointed)! We were all just floored! Had no idea this could even happen! He fought it for six months, until it was found there had been a child support order, he'd just never paid any, and niece and husband agreed to sign off on it if he would just agree to the adoption...well, mr. "that MY boy, I'M his FATHER, I'll NEVER sign over my parental rights" all of a sudden agreed to quit fighting...so niece and husband had 8k in their own legal fees, then had to pay the state back for his 'court appointed' atty! (had he 'won' they would not have had to pay his atty fees, the state I guess would've ate it then)...Now you talk about a bunch of huey! sooooooooo maybe the OP can get free legal aid...certainly worth checking on OP!
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Lori
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| Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 1:33 am Post subject: accident |
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Thank you again for your responses, I have been busy trying to look up laws and find out what to do....and t-cope, yes I learned I can't get the court appointed attorney. Unfortunately I'm still looking at this through a victim's eyes, I've never been in trouble before and I don't know what to do. And Lori, I am sorry to hear what happened in your family...it just seems so wrong:(
About the summons...I was served by the sherriff by the papers, it has a Case number and a judge...but reading it through it is just a complaint with an order to respond by 7/16/2010 with a written response to the court. My ex has also been served. There is no trial date yet.
Complant says I am being sued for damages greater than $5,000 but no more than $15,000. States insurance company at all times pertinent to the accident was authorized to and doing business in the state of FL. At all times defendent (me) has been a resident of this county, FL. At all times my ex was a resident of this count in FL. At all time subroger was a resident of this county, owner of the vehicle subject to the action, and the she and all occupant were covered by Insurance company at time of accident. It states on or about Feb 26 my ex was the owner of the vehicle. It states on that date I was driving the vehicle. It states at that time and place, defendant (me) negligently operated or maintained an automobile so that it collided with subrogers vehicle. It states as a direct and proximate result of defendants negligence pursuant to terms of her ins. co. she was forced to pay $10,000 for property damage. As a result of that payment and under terms of her policy, plaintiff has become subrogated to the rights of the above named subroger. It satates plaintiff has performed all conditions precedent required of it for bringing in nthis action against defendants. It states no facts exist that would setoff this debt, or to allow a counterclaim to be entered...
So...a lot of the facts such as where I live and the date of the accident is true. But how do I know which vehicle she was in proximate to the accident, how much she was charged to fix her car, and most importantly..I was never charged with negligence (carelessness) and was told by the traffic clerk I could try to fight that too. I am truly sorry that she obtained damage, but personally, if it were *my* way, everyone involved should be subjected to the burden that I do of finding the original perpetrator who tresspassed head on into my lane which caused this whole domino effect. As of now, I am looking at bankruptcy, trying to raise 4 kids on my own, while he mooches off a trust fund and just does as he pleases all day. What he does is beyond negligence, he just doesn't care..and that's why I left him. I tend to think he didn't pay the insurance on purpose...he could have afforded it...but I guarantee in court he'll stand up and say "but judge, SHE was the one driving the car"....
Thanks for your help...~Jen~
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