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What law specialty should I look for to defend a vehicle accident lawsuit?
Anonymous4 views8 answers
Background: Accident occurred in 2012 in Renton WA. Daughter's boyfriend was driving daughter's vehicle with permission. Vehicle was registered in my name + daughter's name. Vehicle was insured on my policy. Boyfriend read end's plaintiff's vehicle, causing unspecified physical, employment, emotional, etc. injury to plaintiff. We hear nothing for 2 years+360 days. At that point, we hear from my insurance company that a lawsuit is pending. Today, I get the lawsuit. Defendant's are boyfriend, me and my wife. No specific damages are specified; all to be determined 'at trial'.
We now live in CA. I need an attorney with skills defending this kind of action. I presume I need an attorney in WA. What should I ask for?
Steve
Contact the insurance company that issued the policy in effect at the time of the accident.
Your insurance company is responsible for finding an attorney to represent you. Many of the best personal injury defense attorneys don't advertise because the contract directly with the insurance companies.
And yes, you will need an attorney licensed in the state where the lawsuit was filed.
Turn the matter over to your insurance company. They will hire an attorney or law firm to defend all defendants at no cost to you. Yes, you need Washington counsel, and your insurance company will provide it. That is why you have insurance.
Your insurance company will assign you a lawyer. The lawyer will either be in-house (employee of the insurance company) or an outside counsel, often called panel counsel. Typically, outside counsel are called upon to handle the more serious cases. In any event, the attorney will represent your interests. As the owner of the vehicle, your liability is limited to $15,000 in California, unless there is an issue of negligent entrustment. That is to say, if the boyfriend was incapable of driving or incompetent to drive, and you knew or should have known that, your liability is not limited to just $15,000. Your attorney should explore that issue during the discovery phase of the case. I would make sure your defense counsel has trial experience. A lot of lawyers don't have trial experience. Those with extensive trial experience belong to the American Board of Trial Advocates.
