Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

My wife was parked in her car with our 3 year-old son. Both were seated in the 2nd row of our SUV, waiting for me to get off work. A speeding vehicle suddenly ran into the back of our SUV, totaling our vehicle. My son was completely fine because he was sleeping in his car seat still buckled in. My sustained a sore neck, back and left leg.
We were told that the driver at fault only have $10K of coverage to pay for damages. The bad part about the $10K is that when he hit my wife's SUV, the SUV move forward and hit another car parked in front of my wife. We were told that the car that my wife's parked SUV hit may be totaled as well.
My question is... Will the insurance company pay more to us because their insured driver directly hit us first, and then whatever is left from the $10K give the remaining amount to the owner of the car that our car hit as a chain reaction?
Please keep in mind that our vehicle's fair market value is around $6500.
Thank you for any insight you can provide.

Asked on 4/29/11, 4:34 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

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You need to see a personal injury attorney in your locality. Do not speak to the driver's insurance company at all or sign any documents. The attorney you speak to may be able to verify the driver's insurance information and possibly find other sources of recovery. Get all necessary medical attention. Watch out for legal time limits.

Answered on 4/29/11, 4:41 pm

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George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

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The at fault driver's insurance company will not pay on the basis of which vehicle was hit first. Normally they will make an offer based upon the percentages of dollar damages; if the damage to your vehicle is $6,500 and it is the same to the other vehicle, they will offer you 50% of the $10,000 coverage limit. Check with your own insurance if you have coverage for under-insured motorist property damage.

If the other driver has only $10,000 in property damage liability, they probably only have a $15,000 liability policy for personal injuries. Actually, you would rather recovery under that part of the policy as it is tax free then the property damage, which you can claim as a accident damage loss.

Answered on 4/29/11, 4:54 pm

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