Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Washington

Rear-ended, Car Totalled...

Rear-ended by an unisured motorist (UM) driving his company car, registered to his business partner. My car totalled, $2000 6mo old laptop in trunk destroyed. UM at first said he did not want to go through insurance because he had other incidents. Later admitted he had none. Offered to pay me my full retail replacement costs for car & laptop, asked for a detailed cost breakdown, which I provided. I filed claim with my insurance co, but left it open until I saw a check from him in my hands. After a month+ of saying he was ''working on it'' and would pay me, he changes his mind & tells me to go through my insurance. Says all his money is ''tied up in property'', although he is VP of his company & has a $400,000 house! My insurance co will pay for the lost property, but I will not get full retail, like he promised to pay. My car was paid off less than a month before the wreck and was in great condition. My question is, is it worth hiring a lawyer to try to get what he promised, or should I just give in and go through my uninsured motorist policy? I fear that if I do that, I will really come out behind in this. I can't afford to get a replacment laptop and a decent car unless I get what he promised me.


Asked on 9/09/04, 5:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Rear-ended, Car Totalled...

Unless you have an in-depth knowledge of subrogation law I would *strongly* suggest you find and retain counsel. Your stand to get a lot more out of this as a represented party, and almost every PI atty will do this with minimal out of pocket cost to you. Find an atty you like; call the County Bar Association in your area for a helpful referral. This guy is going to cough up more with an attorney on your case than you will receive trying to do it yourself. Good luck, Powell

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Answered on 9/09/04, 10:08 pm


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