Home > Research Legal Advice > Car / Auto Accident > Do I have a personal litigation case against a felon who totaled my car ...
Asked 4 months ago - Troutville, VA
FlagThe felon has not has a license in over 20 yrs, was driving his wife's insured car (she was a passenger) and in the course of fleeing the police in a speed trap, repeatedly hit and totaled my car and flipped his over me. I am still in major pain. Have micro-fractures of the sacrum, damaged SI joints and post concussive brain syndrome. I am a national speaker/speaker trainer with an international ministry and have had to reduce my speaking engagements, as well as other volunteer positions. My whole life is upside down. They have a sketchy insurance company; ours is top rated and have been wonderful. Heard there's a 2 year limit on filing claims though. I will be working on healing for quite a while. What should we do?
You should definately consult with an attorney regarding this issue. Even though the person that hit you was a felon fleeing from the police, he was still negligent. That is the standard that is used to determined whether you are entitled to recover any money for your injuries, pain, suffering and medical expenses incurred due to what he did. The insurance issue is an issue of where the money comes from to pay you and not an issue that affects who is at fault. It sounds like your injuries are ongoing and need to be compensated. I would urge you to contact us or another firm as soon as possible. Your information about the filing deadline is right-the case cannot proceed if you have not filed a suit within two years from the date of the incident unless the case settles.
Since most plaintiff's personal injury lawyers do free consultations, I suggest you meet with one in your area immediately. Unfortunately, the 2 year limit you reference for bringing a case is unbendable and if missed, will prove fatal to your claim. Based on the limited fact pattern you present, you may also have a viable case against the municipality or state police department that undertook the pursuit. However, that kind of claim more likely than not requires written notice of your intention to bring that claim, probably within a much shorter period of time than 2 years. On the other hand, maybe the police department acted prudently in deciding to chase... and that would negate any such negligence claim against the department and/or individual officer(s). The sketchiness of their insurance company should have no effect on the viability of your claim. Nor should the fact that the other driver had no license. However, what does come into play is the amount of insurance coverage these people have/had to compensate you. It may be that they have a limited or minimal policy that won't be sufficient to compensate you for your injuries, which sound pretty profound based on your description. If the coverage isn't sufficient to cover your losses, you could either sue the driver personally for negligence and recklessness and try to collect the money from both him and his insurance company (assuming he is solvent), or choose to pursue what is called an underinsured motorist claim against your insurance company assuming you have a greater monetary limit in that type of coverage than the other driver has for liability.
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