car accident who do i take to court? Help?
Ok i got in an accident and was hit from behind,
My car is totaled and not able to drive, my insurance is looking at it,
The guy that hit me is in the military and had no insurance at the time because i found out his was canceled prior to getting his rental car he was in,
He is from Savannah georgia and was visiting florida... he got the tickets not me.... I have and attorney.. and am going to the doctor this thursday for my neck and back pain,
Who will my attorney sew? He charges 40% if under 1 Mill is this normal for attorney charge?
And also will they pay all medical first and then take there 40% and give me the rest or do they take there 40% right off hand and pay the medical with my money and then give me the rest.....I never had a lawyer before and im kind of puzzled....
May 29th, 2010 - 09:01
The attorney’s fee is unreasonable. 25% if settled out of court and 33% if it goes to court is more in line with reality. Insurance is on the car, not the driver so there should be coverage by the rental company.
May 29th, 2010 - 09:47
The attny sues the insurance company. Since the guy was uninsured he personally will be sued.
I would find a different attny. his fee is way to high. It is usually 1/3 of whatever you get anything higher is above and beyond normal.
The bills usually get paid first, then the attny then you.
My suggestion is find a different attny.
May 29th, 2010 - 10:24
1. You should have had “uninsured motorist, under-insured motorist” insurance. That way your policy will cover the costs and you would not having to be worried about suing anyone. I suggest if you do not have it now, you get it ASAP for future accidents.
#2. Your insurance company should be helping you with this. If you went and hired an attorney without consulting with your insurance company you made a mistake. Quite often insurance companies have deals with lawyers to handle cases at a reduce rate. 40% is pretty stiff.
#3. In the state of the accident if insurance is required then the soldier violated the law. Some states require a person to post a bond of $10,000 if they do not have insurance. You need to check to see if the soldier complied with the law by posting the bond if required. You then find the cost of the damages and make a claim against the bond. Once you get paid, the holder of the bond has to go after the soldier for the money.
#4. You can contact the soldier. Inform him of the criminal charges that can be filed against him if he does not comply with state law. Also inform him that if he does not make some arrangement to pay for your damages you will sue him. At the very least you will inform his commander of the issues so that he can not duck out of everything using the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act.
#5. You might check with the car rental company also. The soldier may have bought insurance through them and they just “forgot” to mention it.