Legal Question in Insurance Law in California
Statue of Limitations Insurance Claims
My husband was in a motor vehicle
accident 4 1/2 years ago. There were
two elderly retired adults in the car.
The police were called but filed no
report. He did not report the incident
to his insurance company b/c he was
afraid he would lose his job. He paid
the other party's insurance company
for the damages on the vehicle. He
called a few weeks later to make sure
everything was fine, as far as he
knew he had paid everything out. No
other contact was made in the 4 1/2
years. We received a demand letter
from an attorney for $18,000.00 to
be paid for an injury to the other
party's insurance company a week
ago. We are getting conflicting
information from attorneys we have
contacted regarding the statue of
limitations on debt and collecting a
claim. We are not sure if we should
hire an attorney or bite the bullet
and file for bankruptcy.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Statue of Limitations Insurance Claims
Hire a lawyer first, at least to review your options. It may be outside the statute of limitations. If so, you probably don't want to go BK. Good luck.
Re: Statue of Limitations Insurance Claims
It sounds like the injured parties' insurer treated your husband as if he had no insurance and paid them uninsured motorists benefits. It then had three years from the date of such payment to bring a subrogation suit against your husband. You should see a lawyer to discuss how to defend the matter, if this is what is involved. This might now be the time to report it to the auto insurer for the employer as well as your own auto insurer at the time. The possibility exists that one or both of them might step in now.
Re: Statue of Limitations Insurance Claims
This isn't an insurance claim. It's a personal injury claim. After 4-1/2 years such claims would normally be time-barred. It is quite possible, though, that when your husband dealt with the insurance company after the accident he signed a waiver of the limitations period. Alternatively, he may have signed an agreement to toll (temporarily halt) that period. Your husband should have an attorney deal with the insurer's attorney to find out why the company thinks it can still collect from him.
Related Questions & Answers
-
MINIMUM and deposit PREMIUMS Can an Insurance company charge a Annual Minimum and... Asked 5/21/08, 10:05 pm in United States California Insurance Law
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
