Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Last year in March my mother was involved in car accident which was not even her fault. She was in center divider trying to make left turn into shopping center when the other car leaving the shopping center made illegal u turn and hit my mom. But now the insurance company is refusing to pay my insurance company was AAA and the other party insurance company is Viking and there reason for it is that the other party has done fraud claims before and now their stating that this might also be fraud claim. There was ambulance called to the scene because my 80 year old grandmother. My parents did not hire a attorney from the beginning assuming that the insurance company would take care of it since it was not her fault. But now long story short AAA is refusing to pay. What can we do? The car is registered under my name and the car still has major damages on it. Who can I appeal to? Can I take Insurance Company to small claims court?
5 Answers from Attorneys
No. She would have to sue the other driver. Once there is a judgment, then her attorney could attempt to collect. She cannot directly sue the insurance company right now.
Hello,
Since it has been far less than 2 years, you have quite a bit of time to file a lawsuit. Suing the other driver might be a good idea in theory, but if you can't locate him or if he is insolvent, suing him and even getting a judgment will not do much good as there will be nothing to collect. If, on the other hand, the other driver has traceable assets (such as real estate, etc...), it might be worth filing against him.
You should also consider whether your police had an uninsured motorist coverage. If so, your insurance will have to pay damages up to the policy limit for the actions of the uninsured driver. If you do have such coverage, make sure you demand arbitration from your own company in writing, pursuant to your policy.
Thanks,
Arkady Itkin
http://www.arkadylaw.com
San Francisco & Sacramento Injury Lawyer
My office handles car accident cases all over the State of California. If there were injuries in this accident, you may call me for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1 or go to http://www.thepersonalinjury.com
If the insurance company will not settle the case, then you should retain a lawyer and have them represent you on the claim. If your damages are less than $7,500 you can take the other driver and owner that car to small claims court. Remember there is a 2 year statute of limitations to file a lawsuit for personal injuries.
Ok first as anybody hurt? If they were then they should get a personal injury attorney and sue the guy. They have 2 years from the date of the collision to file a lawsuit.
now for the car damage. Did you have collision coverage because if you did then AAA should have taken care of the claim long ago, if not then you will need to sue the other driver. Once you get a judgment against him then his insurance will pay or you can collect it out of him.
Remember the name of the game in insurance claims handling is to delay, delay and delay some more.
Good luck.
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