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Personal injury law in WA state, car auto accident

Asked over 3 years ago - Bellevue, WA

I asked a couple of questions the other day about a car accident involving my friend and I getting rear - ended in Bellevue by a girl who had no insurance and owed alot of money to the irs etc.. It just so happens that this girl is one of my moms friends daughter. From what I was told , she is do gooder who drives groups of seniors to monthly events and activities. Although she had no personal auto insurance, she was insured by the people she worked for. Use the term "work for" losely as it is a volunteer type program however it did provide her with insurance while she was driving during her "volunteering ". When the accident occurred she was not working. My question , How much trouble is she going to get into? I guess this was her first accident and she has been going to school to better herself and all the money that she owed was due to school loans. Will she be liable for my friends hospital bills even though there was uninsured motorvehicalist coverage.

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Attorney answers (3)

David Carl Beyersdorf

Reputation Level 13

Answered over 3 years ago. Personal Injury Lawyer in Fresno, CA.

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To add to Mr. Epstein's comments above, the "girl" who caused the accident will probably be cited with a ticket for driving without insurance. Assuming your friend uses his or her uninsured coverage or medical benifits coverage to pay for hospital bills, the insurance may sue the "girl". The operative word is "may". They ar enot required to seek reimbursement from an at fault third party. Often times an insurance company will forego a claim against someone who woiuldn't be able to pay (judgment proof). That is, it costs the insurance company a certain amount of money to obtain a judgment against someone even when it is a slam-dunk case. If they decide that they are unlikely to ever recover on the judgment, they may decide to save their court costs and legal fees. Other times, they will get their judgment and just sit on it in hopes that the judgment debtor has some assets at some point.

If your friend didn't have any policy that covered his/her injuries, then he/she could always file a lawsuit directly against the "girl" and hope that she makes some money someday that might be collected against the judgment.

Best of Luck to your friend.

David C. Beyersdorf
Lee & Beyersdorf, LLP
2110 North Winery Avenue, Suite #101
Fresno, CA 93703
(559) 252-7000

WWW.FRESNOLEGAL.NET

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Jason Garrett Epstein

Reputation Level 11

Answered over 3 years ago. Car / Auto Accident Lawyer in Bellevue, WA.

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If your insurance company pays un-insured motorist benefits to you and your friend, then the insurance company can go after the girl who caused the accident for repayment if they choose to do so.

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Joann Leigh Pheasant

Reputation Level 8

Answered about 3 years ago. Personal Injury Lawyer in Sacramento, CA.

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There are a couple of things here that are interesting. First of all, who owned the vehicle? Parents? If so, she may be under their insurance, or more specifically they may have liability under the "family use doctrine". Secondly, I'm not sure that "how much trouble she's going to get into" is really your problem. Perhaps she should be in some trouble. She is driving without legal insurance - this sounds like a minor accident from your description but what if it wasn't? Shouldn't she take some responsibility for following the law and for her own actions? Part of being a responsible person is not just good intentions, e.g. going to school to better yourself and volunteering, but also being responsible in terms of your actions. If she doesn't have insurance, and can't afford insurance she can't afford to drive.

If the vehicle belongs to the volunteer group it's possible that they still have some liability. I guess it depends on what you want to do. Best of luck.

This general advice does not create an attorney client relationship, nor am I your attorney. Thanks.

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