QUESTION
Are they still liable if my license needs to be reinstated?
Asked on Dec 02nd, 2015 on Personal Injury - Oklahoma
More details to this question:
While getting on I 44 off of 31 going west. I was rear ended while yielding by a commercial truck. The car belongs to my daughter. She has no insurance and she was in the passenger seat. My driver’s license just needed to be reinstated. Her back is injured. My neck is sore. Where do we go from here? It’s the first time I have been in an accident. The commercial truck driver blamed it on the car behind him that was a smaller car that left the scene. He said that it pushed him into me. He told the officer that the insurance was mostly focused on me not having my license.
1 ANSWER
Start treatment for your injuries. Engage counsel to assist you on the financial recovery. Counsel can file a claim on the truck driver company's insurance on your injuries, your daughter's injuries and the property damage. Let your counsel deal with the insurance folk. If you are called by anyone, simply and without explanation, refer the person over to counsel. All they really want from you is a way to deny or reduce your claim, so let counsel deal with them. The truck driver does not decide liability, nor do you. Even if he were actually 'pushed', the driver was too close to you if he made contact into your vehicle. His company can seek out the other driver to go against that person, if the person existed at all. You have your own separate criminal legal issue. Driving w/o a valid license is an offense, but your lack of a license does not decide who is liable in the accident. Do not delay in securing counsel. Depending on who you select for counsel, he or she may be able to address the accident and the DL issue. Many of us are still general practitioners and have experience in several fields of law. Best wishes for a complete recovery to both you and your daughter.
Answered on Dec 14th, 2015 at 7:49 AM