QuestionMy son was driving my car that was register and insuresd by
my sister. He had a friend in the car and appeard to be
okay. Days later he said he was contacted by the scammers
at the hospital and told he had a claim and to sue. He said
yes and is sueing the insurance company. The car only had
liabilty and my son wasn't on insurance. The car was
totaled and taken off policy. Now my sister gets a letter
that their is a claim against her and she is worried they
will sue her. I'm trying to reassure her this is procedure
and not going after her, but i really don't know. At this
point I think it states her because polisy holder but really
sueing insurance. Am I right and what does this mean. I am
really worry bacause neither myself or my son can afford a
law suit. My son did have a liscience but was only 18 at
the time. Thank you (Ursula from New York)
AnswerHi Ursula,
I cannot understand your question, so I will line out your sentences one by one and ask for you to answer my questions. Then I will be able to figure out the situation. Be sure to answer me ASAP since I am going to close my question window for a vacation pretty soon. Ready? OK, here we go:
#1. "My son was driving my car that was register and insured by my sister"
QUESTION #1: Why is a car owned by you registered in your sister's name? Probably so that no one will know you own a car, I guess. Hence, your sister has exposed herself to any claims in excess of the policy limits. In other words, if the claim is worth $60,000, but she only has insurance of $25,000 policy limits, then she is on the hook for the excess judgment amount.
Another question is who is insured under her policy? You or your son cannot drive that car UNLESS you are NAMED INSUREDS. Why? It is a common scam by owners to leave off the names of people who will regularly drive the car on the thought that they will be covered as insureds who are simply permissive guest drivers.
BUT her insurance policy DOES LIKELY have a provision that states anyone who has regular use of and access to this vehicle and is not a named insured will NOT BE COVERED as a named insured. Hence, neither you nor your son will be covered by her policy.
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#2. "He had a friend in the car and appeared to be okay. Days later he said he was contacted by the scammers at the hospital and told he had a claim and to sue.
QUESTION #2: Did your son cause an accident that injured his passenger? And then the passenger was convinced by someone to sue? That is what it appears—and the defendants in the lawsuit will be the driver and the owner of the car: your son and your sister.
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3. "He said yes and is suing the insurance company. The car only had liability and my son wasn't on insurance. The car was totaled and taken off policy. Now my sister gets a letter that there is a claim against her and she is worried they will sue her. I'm trying to reassure her this is procedure and not going after her, but i really don't know."
ANSWER #3. NO—he is NOT "suing the insurance company". If the is a lawsuit, won't they have to sue the driver who caused the injuy, and if no insurance there, then the owner of the vehicle? Usually that is how lawsuits are handled.
If you or your son should EVER receive a summons and complaint, be SURE to make a copy and take it immediately to the insurance company and demand that they defend you and your son. They may state that he was not insured. But you tell them he WAS insured and there will be a fight about that so in the meantime will they please enter a notice of appearance on behalf of you and your son and thereafter defend you under what is called a reservation of rights.
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#4. MOST IMPORTANT—get an attorney from the New York Lawyer Referral and Information Service—it will cost only $40 an hour for good advice.
Go through your New York State Bar Association and find the local participants in that LRIS. In fact, if there is no local participant in your area, you can simply do the business over the phone, with faxing any documents the attorney needs to see.
Here is the TIP ON ADMISSION: They cannot do any work for anyone who has a personal injury claim, and hence they will likely tend to turn you away without really understanding that yours IS NOT a personal injury claim question.
Instead, be sure to tell them that this is a question of contractual language interpretation and insurance and as such it should not be disqualified for assistance.
The attorney can provide the most helpful information, especially if the victim elects to proceed with a lawsuit and you or your son gets sued. THAT is when you need to act quickly, and having this attorney already available to you will be a great help.
If I have already closed the door to new questions by my vacation, then you can write to me care of my insurance claim instructions www.SettlementCentral.Com website. Use the "contact us" button top right and you will have to mention your name and allexperts or else they will delete your e-mail (we get dozens of unsolicited e-mail questions each day).
trust that my time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
