by pokey » Thu May 17, 2012 04:13 am
My daughter was in a car accident a year and a half ago. At the time, we contacted our insurance agent but, because we had no collision or comprensive on the car that we had no loss. They said that the other party or their insurance company would file a claim if they felt that they had a loss. That was the last we heard of it until last week when we got a collections letter from a collections attorney seeking damages. We immediately referred the matter to our insurance company. When I checked the claim online, there are medical charges that are currently well within the range of our liablity.
My daughter was going straight and the other guy was turning left. He received the ticket for not yeilding the right of way to her, but there was an eyewitness that said she ran a red light (she is not sure of that, it may have turned while she was entering the intersection).
But the way this is being handled by the other insurance company has me spooked. First, they say that they filed a claim, but my insurance company has no record of that. They say that they asked for arbitration, but my insurance company has no record of that, either. They did not try to contact us, but sent a collections letter that we only have thirty days to respond to. If it goes into arbitration, it will take longer than that. If we do not respond within thirty days, it is an admission that the debt is ours. Does that mean we admit fault?
So now, I have a couple of questions. First of all, do I need to respond to the collections letter by referring them back to the insurance company? Second, what happens if my daughter is found to be at fault and the damages/injuries outstrip our liability coverage? Are we then held liable for the overage?
My daughter was going straight and the other guy was turning left. He received the ticket for not yeilding the right of way to her, but there was an eyewitness that said she ran a red light (she is not sure of that, it may have turned while she was entering the intersection).
But the way this is being handled by the other insurance company has me spooked. First, they say that they filed a claim, but my insurance company has no record of that. They say that they asked for arbitration, but my insurance company has no record of that, either. They did not try to contact us, but sent a collections letter that we only have thirty days to respond to. If it goes into arbitration, it will take longer than that. If we do not respond within thirty days, it is an admission that the debt is ours. Does that mean we admit fault?
So now, I have a couple of questions. First of all, do I need to respond to the collections letter by referring them back to the insurance company? Second, what happens if my daughter is found to be at fault and the damages/injuries outstrip our liability coverage? Are we then held liable for the overage?
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 12:44 am Post Subject: Update
I am surrounded by idiots.
My insurance company reviewed the claim and found my daughter to be not at fault. They contacted the other insurance company, who said that they would call off the debt collectors since insurance was involved. However, we have not received notification that the account was closed.
The other insurance company states that they are going to file for arbitration but, according to my insurance company, no paperwork has been filed.
I attempted to file complaint with the state insurance commission but was told to go back and work with my insurance company. Who are they working for, anyway?
I am looking for an attorney, but having a hard time finding one. Any suggestions? I have spent three months on this, have kept careful records of phone conversations, and am considering a lawsuit against my insurance for bad faith and the other insurance for unfair claims practices.
My daughter could use the money for grad school. Just saying.
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 02:18 am Post Subject:
(I deleted the extra posts)
OK, so you're coming very close to the end of the statute of limitations, which is two years from the date of injury -- if you haven't already missed this, you are going to be out of luck in filing a suit against someone if you do. What city are you in in CO?
At this point, you can just find any attorney who is willing to write just enough of a complaint to file the case for you ahead of the statute and serve the insurance company(ies) for a few hundred dollars. Then you can hunt for new counsel who will file a First Amended Complaint with the real details.
You might try contacting Mr. Crawford. He's not in Colorado but he may know someone who is.
Don't fool around any longer!!
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 01:32 pm Post Subject:
I thought the statute of limitations was three years in Colorado. All of my searches said it was three years.
I have passed the statute of limititations. The accident was in August of 2010. Does this mean I am basically screwed?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 06:30 pm Post Subject: Statute of limitations
So, if the statute of limitations as passed, do I have any recourse? They can sue me for three years. Is my insurance company still bound to defend me contractually? Seems like they will bail since they have been useless so far.
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 06:30 pm Post Subject: Statute of limitations
So, if the statute of limitations as passed, do I have any recourse? They can sue me for three years. Is my insurance company still bound to defend me contractually? Seems like they will bail since they have been useless so far.
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 09:18 pm Post Subject:
For a summary of Colorado's various statutes of limitations, see:
http://www.statuteoflimitations.net/colorado_statute_of_limitations.htm
Injury to personal property is 3 years, but personal injury is only 2 years.
Looking back on your posts, I cannot tell if your concern is for the damages to the vehicle or personal injury damages. If you are still arguing over the physical damages to the vehicle, then you have 10 more months to sue. If you are thinking of suing for personal injuries, medical expenses, etc, you have thought about it almost two months too long.
Your insurance company, if you are sued, is obligated to provide you with a defense -- that's what they promised in your contract -- for COVERED losses. If you are sued for something that is no longer actionable due to the statute of limitations, then they will move for summary judgment on those grounds, and the motion is most likely to be sustained.
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 03:21 am Post Subject:
Try giving Roger Moore a call, his number can be found at http://rmoorelaw.com/. He does a lot of subro work himself so you want to first ensure he doesnt have a conflict of intetrest
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 04:54 am Post Subject: Thanks so much
Thank you so much for all of this information. I feel like it empowers me to do more for myself. This is not something the average person deals with very often.
Thank you, Mr. Crawford. I will contact Roger Moore's firm tomorrow, although both of the carriers involved are very large so the possibility of a conflict of interest is real. That may be why I have not gotten very far in finding a lawyer.
MaxHerr, I am sorry for the lack of clarity. This stuff makes my head spin and I am afraid that my posts reflect that. We are arguing over the repair bill for the other party's car. As far as I know, there have been no claims of injury set forth from either party, although my insurance carrier seems to be intent on keeping me in the dark as much as possible.
I was considering a bad faith suit against my insurance carrier, but have been unable to determine whether the clock started ticking at the time of the accident or when they screwed up and we got sent to collections. I think I need to have a nice, long conversation with a lawyer to ask these questions and view my options. I have also been quite unable to create much of a paper trail. They seem to delight in using the phone. I have documented the calls between us, but handwritten and in a notebook that I keep near the phone for the newest bouts of weirdness on their part. The paperwork I have includes a letter from our insurance telling me that the other insurance carrier was going to close the collections account now that insurance was involved (didn't happen as far as I know), and the collections letter that started the whole thing. Requests for copies of pertinent correspondence have been met with " you will have to subpoena those".
Attempts to file a complaint with the Department of Insurance have not gone well. They keep telling me I need to work with my own insurance company.
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 01:51 pm Post Subject:
Since this only involves property damage losses, you have until August 2013 to sue. Your right to any injury losses is moot -- the statute has run its course.
Add your comment