Feb this year,while sitting at a redlight my husband was rear-ended by another car going over 50 miles per hour. We wer fully insured at 100,000 ,the other driver insured att he minimum required by Fl. Of 10,000. During the course of this accident our vehicle was pushed into a car ahead of us by the impact this driver refused medical treatment and left.We are now being sued by this person.We were told we can not go after the driver that caused it all,.The attorney we have basically have done nothing. They have yet to even an in person consultation.All they have done is send my husband to "their doctors" and now we have thousands of dollars worth of medical bills. What are our rights in Fl? We are native New Englanders ,recently moved here 4 yrs ago.Any advise..We are barely scraping bye right now,raising 2 granddaughters and I am only 10 months into remission from Cancer.Any help or advise would be wonderful...
I am sorry for what you are going through, including the inability to speak with your attorney. When you say the at-fault person has the minimum $10,000.00, I presume you are referring to PIP coverage and he/she does not have any liability coverage? As for your $100,000, does that include uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) coverage? If the owner/driver of the at-fault vehicle does not have liability coverage and was not in the course of employment at the time, the only realistic way for your husband to recover damages for personal injuries is through your UM coverage. If the owner/driver does not have liability coverage and you don’t have UM coverage, I am at a loss to understand why your lawyer still has the case open (and has you treating with a doctor only under your PIP coverage vs, also taking your health coverage).
As for the car that is making a claim against you, that is what you have liability insurance for (be thankful you are a responsible motorist for having this coverage - and protecting your personal assets). Your company has probably assigned an adjuster to handle/investigate the claim against you (and if suit is filed, an attorney). That car will have to prove your negligence caused, or contributed to causing the accident. I assume they are claiming you first rear-ended them and then the other car rear-ended you.
I am limited in what advice I can give you, because I lack more facts, but I strongly recommend that you “Demand” to have personal contact with your attorney, including an in-office conference (if you want to meet in person). If you can’t get past a secretary, or paralegal, set all this out in writing and give them __ days to respond. If they don’t respond, I would consult with another lawyer. A lawyer who is fired for good cause, may have lost his right to claim a fee for the work he did. That will make it easier to hire a new lawyer if there is coverage to pursue for his injuries. When your husband consults with another lawyer they can explain this to him. A quality personal injury lawyer should always return client calls and set meetings whenever needed, or requested by the client. They should also make sure you know exactly what is going on with the case. AGAIN, based on my limited information I cannot say your lawyer is doing anything wrong in the handling of your case. I would be happy to give you more direct guidance if you want to provide more facts.
Consumers can use this platform to pose legal questions to real lawyers and receive free insights.
Participating legal professionals get the opportunity to speak directly with people who may need their services, as well as enhance their standing in the Lawyers.com community.