Auto Insurance Claims: my father, lawyer attorney, statutes of limitations

Question
QUESTION:
  Yes, the truck that my dad was driving belonged to the company he was driving for. The checks that were sent to me were from the company's insurance.
  Yes, I do have a complete police report. (Not helpful)
Should I wait until after talking to his employer before I get a lawyer? Do I have a case? Is it possible that his employer should be held liable for more than his insurance company is offering? My dad's accident was Sept 12, is there a time limit for me to react? This is honestly the first time that I've even been able to think about all this.



ANSWER: Yes... I would suggest that you sit down with the company and ask all your questions and get as many answers/information as possible (take notes).  Ask that copies of his file, contract, etc be provided to you at that meeting.

Do NOT mention the word lawyer/attorney to the company right now as that will more than likely turn this matter into an adversarial proceeding and you will get no information/documentation.

I have no present idea as to whether you have a case/remedy v the employer.. I doubt it but you never know.

As accident is approx 5 mos old and most applicable Statutes of Limitations (tort, contract, etc) are at least one year you're presently OK in that regard (ability to make a claim v employer/at fault party (ies), etc).

As to the ownership of the truck.. is there any suggestion that something on the truck failrue and either caused or contributing to the happening of the accident?

When you say the polcie report is not helpful what exactly does it say about what happened?

Get back to me and we will work our way through the issues......

Make sure you are printing all of this for furture reference and sharing with counsel if you land up going that route.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:   Ok, I can do that with his employer. The man runs a very small company (only a couple of drivers). My dad knew him very well. He enjoyed working for him. They hauled these HUGE empty containers. They kind of look like train cars to me. Lots of ranchers would order them to store equipment in. It allowed him to drive in the country and be home most evenings. That meant more time for family.
 Anyway, as for the police report...it was on a major highway,10am, clear conditions, truck was fine (I did make sure it was checked out) My dad was in the 2nd lane on the left. Traffic was moving. Police said they were traveling at about 59mph. Witnesses say a car came up in the far left lane (fast lane) up beside my dad, and proceeded to try to cut accross all lanes of traffic and make the exit. When he cut over in front of my dad...he was forced to use his breaks (obviously faster then what he would have wanted to), his trailor carrying the empty container began to come around. All the while, my dad is trying to get it off to the side of the road. The mystery car..is of course, long gone. Meanwhile the force of that trailor must of been too much, because by the time that he got it off the highway, it had flipped him over and somehow partially ejected him. He was killed instantly.
  Having as much experience as my dad had...I'm sure that he thought until the very end that he could stop it. Police said it was a miracle that no one else was hurt. To make things even worse for me...my husband is a Sgt. for the police dept. that worked my dad's wreck. It has been difficult. I thought that the police report was about as basic as you could get for someone dying the way he did. My husband insists that it is the same that they do for any accident. Like I said before...so many holes and unanswered details for me.
 At any rate, I just really felt like my dad's employer would have contacted me to see if things were ok. It's not like my dad worked for a huge company where he was just a number. We were even the one's who had to ask him about the insurance on his truck. Meanwhile enough time has gone by that places have started to pick up some of my dad's things.(trucks & such) I hate seeing it all go and not get to keep any of it, but we're still behind because of the funeral expenses. I'm a stay at home mom with 2 small girls. It's just really sad how everything has turned out, and I don't even know what all I'm doing wrong or what I should be doing differently.  

Answer
You MAY very well have a tort claim for Wrongful Death against the carrier that was on the truck that you dad was driving at the time of the accident and his death.  

Do you know if you father or the truck owner provided the necessary coverage?

You have a "phantom" vehic`le that caused the accident and the end result.

Even though there may not have been contact between the "phantom" and the truck you MAY have a claim... depends on how the applicable policy reads.

We are talking about an UnInsured Motorist claim (UMBI claim as it is know in the trade).

Suggest you identify a solid tort/bodily injury attorney in your neck of the woods and have a discussion with him about all of this. I would id at least 2-3 such attorneys and then go with the one that you're the most comfortable with.

If the attorney sees a viabale claim he will agree to take the claim on a contingency fee basis (it will cost you nothing) and he can then proceed to develop the claim and go from there.

Don't know what the Wrongful Death Statute of Limitation is in your State but it's at least a year so you're OK but still need to get moving.

Don't cash those checks you have until you speak with an attorney and see what he has to say about cahing them.

Hope and trust that the above helps you better understand the situation.

Please rate this response.


Thanks