QuestionHi Bennie,
I was hit by a drunk driver (his 2nd offense) in Aug. coming back from a trail ride in Austin, Texas and I was pulling my horse in a 2 horse bumper-pull trailer. I suffered a pretty good case of whiplash ($2200 in chiro bills) and my horse fell down in the trailer and suffered injuries as well. He broke a tooth, and has some rib and spinal injuries and needed to go to an osteopath 3 times and she wants to see him again in 3 mos.
The Suburban I was driving was totaled and our insurance company paid for that because he had minimal insurance coverage. His company offered me a settlement of $3800 for my medical bills and pain and suffering.
My question is that his insurance is limited ($15,000) and they will not pay for damage to my horse ($1500) or trailer ($1332.00) because my horse is considered personal property and the trailer wasn't insured separately. Do I need to go back on our insurance company and if so, should I pursue damages to my horse and trailer. I thought horses were livestock and not personal property and I've been told that the trailer should be covered because it was hooked to the vehicle.
Since the injury the horse is just not the horse he used to be and my 'hobby' of horseback riding has turned into fear and dread everytime I get on him. He now bolts and spooks and I have come off of him twice- the vet said he had some bone damage in his head that is pressing down on his brain causing something similar to a headache in a person and causing vision problems and his spooking and bolting while being ridden. I can't sell him knowing he is unsafe to ride and I don't have the heart to send him to auction because chances are he would suffer a horrible death in a Mexican slaughterhouse since they banned the practice in the US last year. I do not have the space or the money to purchase and feed another horse and feel I need to keep this one since the accident wasn't his fault... I paid $2600 for him and would like to collect that amount from the insurance company in addition to the trailer damages, my medical bills and whatever pain and suffering I am entitled to. $3800 is their (driver's insurance company) first offer of a settlement.
Sorry for the long email, but I'm not sure what to do next. Do I go back to the insurance company of the drunk driver or mine.
Thanks for your help!
Holly
AnswerHi Holly,
I'm sorry to learn of your accident and the injuries to yourself and your horse.
A lot of your ability to recover damages centers around your statement that the at fault driver only carried $15,000 coverage.
You state that your own company paid to total your Suburban. The real key to your answers lies here.
Your company will (or already has) file subrogation to recover the amount paid from the adverse insurance company. If it cost $15,000 or more to total your Suburban, then the policy limits of $15,000 in property damage carried by the other driver have been exhausted.
Your own company can't pay for your horse trailer since you did not carry collision on it, although you still have the legal right to recover from the adverse insurance company IF their coverage hasn't been exhausted.
The same holds true for your horse. You have the legal right to recover from the adverse insurance company IF their coverage hasn't been exhausted.
Texas is a mandatory insurance state, which requires you to carry insurance on your vehicle. It does NOT require you to carry insurance on the trailer (it's non-motorized) nor on your livestock.
Both the trailer and your horse are personal property and you have the legal right to recover damages from the adverse insurance company if their policy was not exhausted by paying for your Suburban.
If paying for your Suburban exhausted the $15,000 policy limit, then you have the legal right to recover from the driver.
This would be done by filing a small claims court suit against the driver. The small claims court limit for your state was $5,000, but it was changed to $10,000 in mid to late 2007. I'm not sure if that change took place before or after your accident. You can get that information by calling the local court.
If there is still adequate money left in the $15,000 policy limit to pay for your trailer and horse but the insurance company is still denying your claim, your winning in small claims will force them to pay. Otherwise, when you win, you will get a judgement against the driver which you will have to do all the work to collect. This can be accomplished by placing liens on his car, home or any other property that he might own. You might be able to garnish his wages, you can discuss that issue with the court.
Since all your medical bills were Chiropractic and the insurance industry is extremely anti-chiropractor, the offer of $3,800 to settle your personal injury claim is greater than you could expect in most states which would be around $3,300, there is no reason that you should accept their first offer. I suggest that you counter offer to settle for $4,800 - $5,500 and then negotiate a new settlement amount. They will certainly be willing to increase their first offer by some amount.
I hope this information has been of help.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area
