Home > Research Legal Advice > Car / Auto Accident > How long should I allow an at-fault insurance company (auto accident) to...
Asked about 2 years ago - Austin, TX
FlagI have sent documents to this company on several different occasions, even by registered, return-receipt mail, and they continue telling me they do not have the documents. The accident occurred last November 13, 2010, their insured was cited at the scene, then found guilty in a court-of-law, and they are delaying making any effort to conclude and settle the claim. dfbaker@austin.rr.com
Believe it or not, Texas law allows the "at-fault" driver's insurance company to delay, misrepresent, or outright lie to you (the injured party), because they only owe a duty to their insured, not to you. The original Texas Supreme Court case that established this as our law is "Allstate vs. Watson", and it basically holds what I have outlined above. You should contact an attorney, or file in small claims court (Justice of the Peace) if your claim is less than $10,000, before the second anniversary of the accident. The company does owe a duty to defend the lawsuit and pay any judgment against their insured, but that's all.
Contrary to the "tort reform" propaganda about injured people abusing the system we were deluged with,This is how liability insurance companies act when the court takes away punitive damages, penalties or even liability for attorney fees for this kind of behavior.
Good Luck
Recently several insurance companies have been using delay tactics to prevent paying claims to personal injury victims in Texas. Some insurance carriers are almost impossible to deal with without an attorney. Basically some of these carriers have adopted a “scorched earth” policy requiring a lawsuit to be filed in order to have any chance at fairness.
I would recommend that you contact a personal injury attorney for an initial evaluation of your claim as soon as possible. Generally, the sooner you contact an experienced personal injury attorney the better. Many times people put off talking to a lawyer and it ends up hurting their claim. Most personal injury attorneys will offer a free initial evaluation it is a good idea to take advantage of that.
I would need some additional information to give you a really reliable answer. However, you can always assume that an insurance company will delay or generally make things difficult for you in hopes that you will just go away. The best way to handle this is to hire a lawyer. That conveys to the insurance company that you are serious, and that you won't just go away. Also, a good attorney can usually get a better recovery for you because he/she should know a lot of little things that will help you out a lot.
You should consult a local personal injury attorney immediately as there are several effective tactics that an attorney could employ to push the settlement of your case, including presenting a formal demand, filing suit or initiating an unfair and deceptive trade practice action against the insurance company. Often insurance companies will use these types of tactics on people who are unrepresented by counsel. Good luck!
Were you injured, or are you looking to get your property damage covered? If just property damage, then this is taking far too long. I'd file a lawsuit in small claims court now. That will motivate them to pay, assuming they agree that you are not at fault for the accident. If it's for bodily injury, then you shouldn't even try to settle until you are finished your medical treatment.
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