DUI/ Under Insured policy / Arbitration

This is not a question of criminal law, so you may be addressing the wrong group of lawyers by submitting this question to the DUI / DWI or criminal law group. Just because the basis of your lawsuit is a criminal case, your claim is purely a civil matter.

You will probably have better luck getting a quick and more fully informed reply by posting this question under the catagory of Civil law, or insurance law.

You also haven't stated the extent of your damages, which may consist of injuries, vehicle repairs, lost time from work, etc. There are several factors which need to be addressed.

Nonetheless, here are some (necessarily) VERY simplified answers to your questions: 1) You do not file against the insurance company - they did nothing wrong. You file against the person who hit you. The insurance company only pays for the amount of the claim pursuant to your contract with them. 2) What should you expect? Hopefully, a fair settlement, which is rarely as much as you think you should receive. 3) The insurance company is told to settle the claim by paying you as little as possible. They may drag their feet to try to make you give up and just take a low ball offer. 4) Punitive damages are generally only allowed for intentional acts. 5) Would you be better off in court? That's extremely hard to say because of all of the various factors. Your best bet is to consult a few local lawyers who handle such matters.

I hope that helps! Best of luck to you!

Be very careful about arbitration. The most important thing about arbitration is choosing the arbitrators. Usually, each side picks one arbitrator and those two agree on the third arbitrator. It's best to hire a personal injury attorney to represent you in this matter because he/she will be able to pick an arbitrator who is most favorable to you.

Whether or not punitive damages are awardable depends on the arbitration rules that govern your arbitration. If the rules your insurance company wants to use do not allow punitive damages, you probably will want to hire an attorney to file suit rather than arbitrate because of the felony DUI.