QuestionQUESTION: Hi Mr. Hixenbaugh,
I have a claim in Los Angeles with a subdivision of Setry Insurance. They already paid property damage settlement for totaled car and offered very minimal personal injury settlement that didn't even cover medical expenses. I have been receiving treatment for two years. I filed unlimited civil case. Insurance adjuster stated there was no need to serve defendant but my rights have been preserved since I filed within the statute of limitations. I assumed I did not have to serve and the insurance and I would continue negotiations. I have just submitted a full formal settlement demand letter with medical documentation, etc. However, the 60 days to serve was nearing. I decided to serve just in case. I attempted by mail and hired a process server. The defendant has moved within the last 10 days and is "unable to serve". My 60 days expire, of all days, in a few days time on July 4th, 2010. However, being a holiday and Sunday, I would need to file "proof of service" by Friday, July 2nd. I'm hoping to file by fax and get granted an extension to serve but its unlikely.
Question is: If I don't serve and case is dismissed by the courts, does that mean I no longer have ability to try to obtain settlement with the insurance company even though they have acknowledged full liability?
Hope the background and question make sense. Wondering what the insurance adjuster does at this point.
Thank you!
Julie
ANSWER: Hi Julie,
Let me first state that I am not an attorney and what you are asking is a legal question. I will offer an answer but it should be verified with a local licensed attorney in California.
The first thing I will say is that you should never trust in anything you are told by a claims adjuster, especially when it comes to legal matters. My understanding of a statute of limitations is that that is the last date for filing a law suit. Part of filing a law suit is perfecting service on the person you are suing. If you miss that deadline you are forever barred from filing suit. Even though the insurance company has accepted full liability, your current dispute is not over who is at fault but how much is owed. They have already made you an offer that was not sufficient even though you still have the ability to sue their insured. Once the statute of limitations has passed, the insurance company has no reason to pay you anything. They only pay when there is a chance they their insured would lose a lawsuit. When you can no longer file suit, the claims adjuster will simply thumb his nose at you and say ha ha you lose. Again, never trust anything a claims adjuster says to you. You should have hired an attorney months ago.
If you hope to have any chance of collecting anything you will now need to hire a private detective to quickly track down the at-fault party so you can have them served before Friday.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you Mr. Hixenbaugh!
I did file suit on time to preserve my claim with the insurance. I sent adjuster proof of filing and she extended first settlement offer. It was meager, not even covering half my necessary medical. I sent adjuster settlement demand package at same time trying to serve defendant by professional process server with the 60 day deadline but was unable to find defendant. Well, until today some info arrived. Turns out defendant moved back to South America. 60 days to serve expires in a few days.
I understand these are legal directed questions and will seek that advice as well, however, from the adjusters view at this point: What happens to the insurance claim?
Thank you! Again!
AnswerHi Julie,
Since the responsible party has moved to South America, it is my understanding that your law suit can not proceed. If the insurance adjuster is aware that their insured has left the country, thay can simply withdraw all offers and tell you to have a nice life. Since there is no one available to sue, there is no reason they would pay you anything.
You should speak to an attorney immediately just in case there is some move that you can take that would still protect your rights. If the time passes and noting is done I'm afraid you could be left holding the bag for all of your medical costs with no one to collect from.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
