QuestionWhat is the statue of limitations re: auto accident? I recently received paper work from a well known rental car agency that said I owed them $16,000 from a lawsuit that involved the driver I rear-ended in Jan. 2004. This occurred when the person in front of me slammed on her breaks to assist a child sitting in a child's restraint seat, in the back seat of her car. At the time of the accident, local police came to the scene... both cars had to be towed,
(however, the Dodge Durango (that I had rented at the time) did not deploy its air bags... The police officer did not ticket me and reported that a police report would not be filed as there were no injuries. After all information had been exchanged between parties, I left the scene. The rental agency had all pertinent info re: my personal car insurance that I carried and also purchased 2/3 insurances
through the rental agency. I recently received a letter (1/25/09)from the D.M.V. revoking/suspending my driver's license as a result of this accident that the rental agency filed in court. My job is driving for a living (class A).
Now, I have no job! Can you help? Thanks!
AnswerHi Carol,
The statue of limitations for bodily injury vary (depending on the
state) from one (1) year to five (5) years and even up to six (6)
years in some states if there is a fatality involved. The statue
for the state in which this accident happened applies in your case.
A statue of limitations is the time limit within which a person must
settle, file a lawsuit or forever lose all rights of recovery.
Once the lawsuit is filed, it stops the statue date and it can be years before an eventual court settlement.
The courts in the state where the accident happened would not
have allowed the lawsuit to be filed if the other party missed
the statue limitations date.
Every state has a "contributory negligence" law, since it is possible
for each driver to share a degree of fault in any accident. It is the responsibility of the insurance companies to investigate, agree upon and assign a degree of negligence to each driver ranging from 0% - 100% at fault.
You stated that you reported the accident to the rental agency. You
also had a duty to immediately report it to your own company.
Since this accident occurred 4 1/2 to 5 years, I can't imagine that
You had no knowledge of the injuries and lawsuit until your license
were suspended on 01/25/09. Even if you first learned 6 months ago,
I can't understand why you have waited for 6 months to ask for help!
Based on your statement that YOU have an insurance policy and that
YOU purchased 2/3 insurance from the rental agency (I'm assuming
that you mean CDW), IF YOU were the actual renter of the vehicle OR If YOU were a named driver on the rental contract, and YOU reported
this accident to the rental agency and to YOUR insurance company and YOU fully cooperated with the insurance companies during their investigations, then I see no reason why this loss would not have been covered.
However, if you were traveling with a friend who rented the vehicle
and did NOT pay extra to list you as a named driver and then you
drove the car and had an accident, then none of the insurances
apply. If this is the case, you now have an unsatisfied judgement
against you plus a suspended license. Most states will require
that you satisfy the judgement or enter into a contract of monthly payments to satisfy the judgement, purchase an insurance policy
with a SR-22 filing for the minimum of the next three years and
possibly for as long as the length of the settlement agreement,
pay fines and certain re-issue fees and your license will be
returned. Your license will show the suspension and that will
present a problem getting a new job as a professional driver.
If all the information you presented in your question is full and factual and you have met all of the other conditions as far as being
cooperative with the insurances then you need to gather all the
following documentation:
Your copies of the accident report to the rental agency and your own insurance company, your 2004 auto insurance policy, the auto rental agreement and documentation that you purchased the CDW insurance and You are a named driver, then hire the very best trial Attorney within 300 miles and sue the are a insurance company and the rental agency for not paying the claim and causing you to lose your job. These actions would be considered that they acted in "BAD FAITH" and any competent attorney should be able to win a lawsuit of at least $1,000,000 (One Million). Any competent attorney (with the above documentation) would take this case on a contingency basis in a
heartbeat.
I hope that you have found this information to be helpful. Your
feedback by rating my response will be appreciated.
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area
