Insurance Company Hassle

S

SDPhil26

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
Back in Dec 22 2019 I was rear ended on the freeway when traffic came to a stop, the guy behind me hit me because the guy behind him slammed into him full speed, I submitted all my medical bills to State farm within 6 months after the accident the middle part has an attorney but has not yet contacted or submit paperwork to state farm, the status of limitation is nearing and state farm is feeding me bs, I had an attorney but fired him he did absolutely nothing for me let alone return a call but he still gets a piece because he had me sign a paper that gives him a piece no matter what and didn't find this out until state farm told me, state farm is telling me to file a lawsuit against the the driver that caused the impact and are avoiding my payout, what do i do?
 
SDPhil26 said:
state farm is telling me to file a lawsuit against the the driver that caused the impact and are avoiding my payout, what do i do?
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You sue both the drivers that were behind you and let the court figure out the extent to which each one is liable to you for your injuries and damage to your car. I'd suggest getting an attorney for that.
 
Tax Counsel said:
You sue both the drivers that were behind you and let the court figure out the extent to which each one is liable to you for your injuries and damage to your car. I'd suggest getting an attorney for that.
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If the accident happened as explained by the OP, there is no cause of action against the middle driver. The OP was appropriately advised to sue the driver that caused the accident.
 
SDPhil26 said:
I don't have that kind of money to fork out or I would, thx for the advise though.
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I'm not sure what else you expected to hear. If somebody caused damages to you and now refuses to pay, you sue them.

How much money are we talking about here?
 
Their insurance is refusing to pay (state farm) this should have been settled by now but since state farm noticed i dropped my shady attorney they are screwing me over now, the rep for my claim is an a**hole.
 
SDPhil26 said:
Their insurance is refusing to pay (state farm) this should have been settled by now but since state farm noticed i dropped my shady attorney they are screwing me over now, the rep for my claim is an a**hole.
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How much money is involved? Why haven't you hired another attorney?
 
SDPhil26 said:
Their insurance is refusing to pay (state farm) this should have been settled by now but since state farm noticed i dropped my shady attorney they are screwing me over now, the rep for my claim is an a**hole.
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How much money are we talking about?
What reason has State Farm given for delaying payment?
 
Zigner said:
If the accident happened as explained by the OP, there is no cause of action against the middle driver. The OP was appropriately advised to sue the driver that caused the accident.
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No, he was not appropriately advised by the insurance company if it told the OP only to sue the driver at the end of the chain the accident. In this situation any lawyer that does PI work would tell you to sue BOTH of them. Why? Because you don't know what defenses each driver will offer and it is quite possible that the middle driver was also to some degree at fault in the accident. If that's the case and you don't sue the middle driver, you lose out on part of your compensation. It doesn't cost the client more to sue both, and let the court sort out liability each has. But by including both you guarantee that you don't leave money on the table should the middle driver be determined partly at fault.
 
Zigner said:
If the accident happened as explained by the OP, there is no cause of action against the middle driver. The OP was appropriately advised to sue the driver that caused the accident.
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No. The OP was appropriately advised by TC to sue both drivers. Regardless of who is telling what to whom, there is always a possibility that even the middle driver could have some responsibility. Besides, you don't take legal advice from the enemy.

SDPhil26 said:
state farm is telling me to file a lawsuit against the the driver that caused the impact and are avoiding my payout,
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State Farms duty is to its insured and is defending its insured. That's what it's supposed to do. You'd want your insurance company to do the same for you.

SDPhil26 said:
I don't have that kind of money to fork out or I would
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Personal injury attorneys work on contingency just like your first attorney. If you have a problem with your first attorney file a complaint with whatever agency in CA handles attorney complaints.

You have 6 months until the 2 year statute of limitations runs out. Time enough to get a new attorney and get this all worked out and a lawsuit filed if necessary. Avoid attorneys that advertise on TV and on billboards. Find one that has trial experience.
 
state farm will give me no reason nothing at all it seems like they are stalling me out for the statue of limitation to pass so they don't have to pay me anything and the lawyer I fired said payout was between $30-100k
 
SDPhil26 said:
state farm will give me no reason nothing at all it seems like they are stalling me out for the statue of limitation to pass so they don't have to pay me anything and the lawyer I fired said payout was between $30-100k
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How much damage was done to your car (in dollars)?

What was the cost of your injuries? Have you completed your course of treatment?
 
SDPhil26 said:
it seems like they are stalling me out for the statue of limitation to pass so they don't have to pay me anything
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That's your perception. If, as I suspect, SF is the insurance company of the middle driver, then it's within SF's right to deny your claim, believing that the other driver is at fault. SF seems to have made that clear by telling you to sue the driver that caused the impact.

But it's true. If you don't get an attorney, and you don't file a lawsuit by the end of two years, you get nothing.

SDPhil26 said:
the lawyer I fired said payout was between $30-100k
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Payout from where? Was he approaching two insurance companies? Or just SF?
 
adjusterjack said:
That's your perception. If, as I suspect, SF is the insurance company of the middle driver, ...
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Based on this:
"the middle part has an attorney but has not yet contacted or submit paperwork to state farm,"

I believe that SF is the insurance company of the rear driver in the accident.
 
SDPhil26 said:
I don't have money for an attorney.
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If your case is solid, no reputable auto accident/personal injury attorney would ask for a dime from you.

He/ahe would take your case on a contingency basis, meaning, when you get paid, the lawyer takes her/his fee ABOUT 33% of the insurance payout.

You do your homework, hire yourself a reputable personal injury attorney ASAP.

By the way, a reputable attorney will get you double, perhaps treble, what the insurance company will pay you without one.

Good luck to you as you seek justice.
 
army judge said:
If your case is solid, no reputable auto accident/personal injury attorney would ask for a dime from you.

He/ahe would take your case on a contingency basis, meaning, when you get paid, the lawyer takes her/his fee ABOUT 33% of the insurance payout.

You do your homework, hire yourself a reputable personal injury attorney ASAP.

By the way, a reputable attorney will get you double, perhaps treble, what the insurance company will pay you without one.

Good luck to you as you seek justice.
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I agree...however, the OP has already retained and fired an attorney who still will have a lien on any amount the OP receives. That may make it more difficult to find a new attorney.

The OP has hit her max of 5 posts per day, so we'll have to wait for more information, etc.
 
Zigner said:
Based on this:
"the middle part has an attorney but has not yet contacted or submit paperwork to state farm,"

I believe that SF is the insurance company of the rear driver in the accident.
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EDIT: Then again, the OP also said that SF is the one telling her to sue the at-fault driver.
 
Tax Counsel said:
No, he was not appropriately advised by the insurance company if it told the OP only to sue the driver at the end of the chain the accident. In this situation any lawyer that does PI work would tell you to sue BOTH of them. Why? Because you don't know what defenses each driver will offer and it is quite possible that the middle driver was also to some degree at fault in the accident. If that's the case and you don't sue the middle driver, you lose out on part of your compensation. It doesn't cost the client more to sue both, and let the court sort out liability each has. But by including both you guarantee that you don't leave money on the table should the middle driver be determined partly at fault.
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Fair enough...I *could* make a case that the wording of my response left me enough wiggle room to argue that my response was technically correct...but I won't ;)
 

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