Insurance Legal Questions

Assuming the accident happened in "her" car, or another car that you are also not a co-owner/ co-registrant of, you will have no personal liability. Since she is over 18 and the car is solely in her name, you are not responsible.  As an aside, unrelated to the facts of this accident, it is important for your daughter that she be listed as the "named insured" of that vehicle. There are protections she has as a named insured, particularly if she has uninsured motorist coverage.    This reply should not be considered a formal legal opinion of your case / inquiry. At this time I may not have enough information to give a complete answer to your question and  there may be more to your issue(s) then I have set out in my brief reply. If you have additional questions or information, I am happy to help. Jonathan Groff is an AV preeminent (5 out of 5) rated Personal Injury lawyer, with a principal office in South Miami, but representing clients throughout Florida. He can be reached at, Office: (305) 661-3633 / (800) 549-1942; Mobile (24 hours a day): (305) 302-8807; Email: Jgroff@kgdfloridalaw.com; Website: www.kgdfloridalaw.com  ... Read More

Unfortunately, there is no legal requirement that the insurance company phone you about a late premium, as opposed to writing you. Fortunately, with the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare) your husband cannot be denied health insurance due to his preexisting condition. The problem may be that you hae just missed an open enrollment period. I would talk to a health insurance agent to see if the agent can help you.... Read More

Usually both the attorneys name and your name will be on any settlement check sent from a third party. Then both you and your lawyer endorse the settlement check.  The lawyer then deposits the settlement check into their trust account and then cuts you a check for your portion (usually less attorneys fees and expenses, if any).  Then you leave with your check and deposit or cash it.   Most often, the attorney will already have your check ready to go and you will get your check and endorse the settlement check the same day, however, some offices may handle this differently. If you have any concerns, just be open and honest with your attorney and ask questions.  Best of luck! NOTE: This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney client relationship exists or is formed by this response. ... Read More

I'm sorry to hear about this.  Hang in there for a while longer.  It often takes a long time for insurance companies to investigate claims.   I'd wait a few more months before you decide to take the next step, but I'd follow up with them once every week or 2.  Try and cooperate as much as possible by providing the insurance company with anything they may need.   They may request your phone records, even bank statements.  This may seem a bit extreme, but it's fairly common with insurance investigations.  If you go another month or two and the claim is denied or the claim has not had any progress, you may want to discuss it with a lawyer.  However, you may want to wait until you get an official denial before you contact a lawyer, but do so fairly quickly after a denial letter is received to ensure you comply with time requirements.  Best of luck! NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response.  ... Read More

I am sorry to hear about this fire loss.  First, you need to read your insurance policy.  It might have a time restriction on claiming for personal property.  Second, if the homeowner is delaying the claim, this will likely have a negative impact on the claim.  It is best to get it wrapped up as soon as possible.  2 years is a very long time to resolve a personal property claim and the insurance company might think the claim is closed or might be able to deny the claim based on the delay.  I'd read the policy and discuss this with the insurance company.  Further, be sure to read any release the homeowner signed to ensure that the homeowner did not release the personal property claim when he/she accepted payment for the structure claim.  Best of luck. NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response.... Read More

I am sorry to hear about the death of your fiance.  Sometimes it takes months for insurance companies to come to a decision regarding whether they will pay the policy benefits.  The policy may have exclusions and depending on the circumstances surrounding your fiances death, they could deny the claim.  However, I would keep following up with them.  Call every 2-3 weeks and always ask if they need anything from you or if you can do anything to help speed up the process.   Hopefully you will receive a determination letter soon.  If you still haven't heard anything by early June, I'd consider meeting with an attorney.  You will need a plaintiff's personal injury attorney.  Best of luck! NOTE: This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response.  ... Read More

Depending on the circumstances, yes, the church could be held liable for injuries on the property. Since the church is now aware of boys riding dirt bikes on the property, they could be held to an even higher standard if someone was to get hurt on the property.  The church should take steps to prevent the boys from riding on the property.  To start, the church should post numerous "no trespassing" signs and also consider posting signs like "enter at your own risk", etc.  I also recommend you get some legal advice in your local community.   Your state may have state specific laws regarding this.  I am confident that the church can get some free legal advice from a local attorney in your area. Best of luck. NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response.  ... Read More

As Mr. Tischauser explained, you are presumed to know the law. By way of extreme example, our government did not send you a letter saying murder is a crime, does that mean you can't be charged with murder? As an aside, people who choose not to have health insurance are essentially fining/taxing the rest of us. When an uninsured person has a medical emergency, your fellow citizens end up footing the bill through higher insurance premiums and higher medical bills.  Part of the new health care law is about personal responsibility. However, for those of us who cant afford it, the Government will subsidize the cost of the insurance premium (unless you live in Florida, where we are refusing to help insure millions of mid to moderate income people for the sake of politics). ... Read More

Depends on what you mean "made the claim"? If you mean reported it for you, not a big issue. If you mean lied and pretended that SHE was in car and hurt? You need to retain a criminal lawyer to represent you ASAP as that would qualify as  perjury and insurance fraud. If you would like, we do offer FREE consultations to assist in determing how we can help. Just call 1-800-922-6442.... Read More

If the company, the person who caused the accident, and/or their insurance company will not return your phone calls or properly deal with you on this claim, your only recourse would be to file a lawsuit against the driver and his employer, as well as anyone else responsible for the accident.  You should probably consult with an experienced attorney in your area to properly advise you on how to handle the filing of a lawsuit. Best of luck... Read More

You should review your health insurance plan documents closely, including the summary of benefits and the full plan description.  Those documents will control what is and is not covered by your plan.  If this is an employer-sponsored plan (i.e., you get it through work), you should be able to get a copy from your human resources person/department.  Some services are not covered by a plan, regardless of the medical necessity.  Some services are only covered when considered medically necessary by a physician.  Again, you need to review the health insurance plan to determine whether the service is covered if medically necessary. You should have been provided with a denial letter from the insurance company, stating why pre-approval was denied.  In that letter, it will tell you why they feel it is not a covered service, and it will also outline for you your appeal rights under the policy.  If you feel that the denial is improper, then you must file an appeal according to the appeals process in your plan documents and/or contained in the denial letter your receive.  If you fail to follow the full appeal process, you may not be entitled to relief even if you are correct.  Most health insurance plans provide a time limit to appeal a denial, so you must make sure you have filed your appeal within the time limits. Best of luck.... Read More

You always have the right to file suit, as wells as the responsibilities of paying the others sides attorney's fees if your wrong. No way to tell in your case, as facts are poorly stated. If you are interested in hiring a lawyer to help you, we do offer FREE consultations to determine how we can be of assistance at 1-800-922-6442.... Read More

I'm sorry to hear about this.  I think the best thing to do would be to try and find out if a lawyer handled the settlement.  If so, the funds are likely protected.  If the money was given directly to your mom without any court or attorney interference, then you should likely try and do some backtracking with the bank.  Your best bet would be to likely go into your local branch with a picture ID and ask if any accounts have even been opened in your name.  See what you can find out.  They should be able to get most, if not all, of any records that were in your name.  If the account was in your mom's name, you likely won't be able to get access to those records without her approval.  I hope you can find the information you need.  Best of luck. NOTE: This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client privilege exists or is formed by this response.  ... Read More

Questions like this are why you hire personal injury lawyers to help handle your case. Generally you owe all of the doctors whatever wasn't paid on thier bill balance. The problem you may also have is that if other sources paid like, med-pay, health insurance, medicaid or medicare, or anyone that has a "providers" or hospital lien, you have pay them too....  ... Read More

I think you are getting way ahead of yourself. First very few personal injury claims end up in litigation and you don't even think anyone was injured. Also, if it is just a matter of property damage, the insurance companies almost always work those out among themselves.  The statute you cited is for cases in litigation. If there are issues in dispute, I would expect you will first get calls from lawyers, insurance adjuster, or investigators about what happened. Assuming you are a independent witness, what you saw should resolve who was at fault, just from your statement.  A person has four years from the date of accident in which to file a lawsuit, so in the unlikely  a lawsuit is ever filed over this, I do not wish to speculate about whether you are or are not getting your mail.The mailed subpoenas typically are for traffic court and minor criminal matters. As a mere witness, the failure to show up for a minor traffic offense on a mailed subpena, without proof of service, is very unlikely result in anything. If the matter is reset and your are given more formal service and if you ingore that, than there could be issues. There would then be a more formal rule to show cause served on you. So really, I think your worrying about not getting a subpena is premature. Having said this, do not ignore a spina to appear if you actually receive it. ... Read More