I am located in Florida. I had $250,000 liability. My insurance paid for all his medical expenses, and for his new car. He was not driving his car at the time of the accident, nor had insurance on the car he was driving. He also had a suspended license from a DUI in 2011. Would those affect the lawsuit?
No because the issues you are alleging are not moving violations and have nothing to do with what caused the accident. If you have liability insurance, your insurance company should have hired a lawyer on your behalf and you need to discuss such issues with this lawyer.
Facts are not clear if your carrier already paid the $250,000? If they did, they would have obtained a release in your favor and all is moot now as you will not be sued. He didn't have insurance, so UIM subrogation rights would not come in to play. If you were liable for this accident, you are liable. Your carrier would likely argue any sort of comparative negligence argument available to them. Let them handle it, that is why you paid for liability coverage. If you are served with a Complaint/Summons be sure to immediately contact them and let you know.
No. That will not come into evidence. Unfortunately the court will rule that it is irrelevant. Make sure you retain personal counsel to advise you. You will want to have your insurance carrier settle your case as you are exposed to punitive damages. Your own attorney can write a letter to your insurance company telling them to settle and can evaluate if there is exposure above the limits. Good luck.
Facts are not completely clear as to who's being sued. But I assume you are the one being sued. The fact that the person you struck was driving with a suspended license or with no coverage should have no impact on the liability portion of your case. In other words, those facts do not make your responsibility for causing the accident any less. Not having the required insurance, may have an impact on what he may recover for medical expenses. However, your facts indicate he was not driving his vehicle or whether he owned a vehicle that would require him to carry insurance personally. It appears that you were insured and, as such, your carrier may be affording you counsel. I would speak to your carrier first. The consult with local counsel if necessary.
The bad news is that, no, his license and lack of insurance are irrelevant to your having been responsible for the accident. He will be punished for those acts in criminal court independently but this is irrelevant to your civil case. You will be subjected to restitution in your criminal case.
The good news is that if your carrier is accepting liability, they will likely settle the case within the limits of your $250,000 insurance policy. Unless you have tons of assets or a fortune in the bank, opposing counsel is unlikely to go after you for more.
Make sure you ask your insurance company to obtain a release in exchange for their settlement. This is what happens in most of these cases.
Lars A. LundeenPersonal Injury LawyerRutland, VT ·
License status has no bearing on negligence and, generally, the lack of a license would never be made known to the jury. Cooperate with your insurance carrier and let them handle this matter for you.
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Mr. Lundeen is licensed to practice law in Florida and Vermont. The response herein is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter within the question. Oftentimes the question does not include significant and important facts and timelines that, if known, could significantly change the reply and make it unsuitable. Mr. Lundeen strongly advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in your state in order to ensure proper advice is received.
No it would not affect the lawsuit. I understanding how it maybe frustrating for you since he did not have a valid drivers license however, in civil litigation those issues are not relevant. I
