Legal Question in Personal Injury in Alabama

UnISURED MOTORIST

My insurance lapsed on the day before I was hit by another car. My father had paid the the insur. the day of. The police ruled the accident my fault. The other driver did not have a license. Witnesses stated that they saw her hit me. They were listed on the police report. She ran a traffic light. What should I do? Both cars have substantial damage. I have no money for legal rep.I don't know the next step or how to proceed? She is threatening to sue.

Thank You.


Asked on 4/20/04, 4:01 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Bobby Lott, Jr. Attorney at Law

Re: UnISURED MOTORIST

Did the other driver have insurance?

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Answered on 4/20/04, 4:03 pm
Randal Ford Ford Firm

Re: UNINSURED MOTORIST

If your dad paid the money ON THE DAY IT WAS DUE you should be o.k. If he paid the money before you got a termination letter saying your policy had lapsed you should be o.k. If not, then you are not insured.

DO NOT speculate about this, CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY AND SEE IF THEY ACCEPT YOUR CLAIM OR NOT! They will tell you pretty quickly.

It doesn't matter if the other driver had a license or not. Having a license or not having a license does not mean that you are a 'bad' driver.

Get a WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM THE WITNESS! Don't worry about what the police officer says, he wasn't there to see the accident, so the officer is just giving his educated guess.

GET A WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM THE WITNESS! GET WITNESS's NAME AND ADDRESS so you can subpoena him/her to court if you are actually sued and they can testify.

Get an estimate for your car (to have it fixed). MAIL THE ESTIMATE AND THE WITNESS statement to the OTHER DRIVER'S insurance company!

That is about all you can do until you find out if you have insurance and if you are being sued. You have a definite amount of time in which you MUST file your case in a Court of Law or you will lose YOUR right to sue for damages. This is called a statute of limitations. If you are physically injured from the wreck, I suggest you contact an attorney.

As you are not a client of our firm and have not entered into an attorney-client relationship, the above information is provided merely as illustrative of the potential responses or options that might be available based upon the above fact situation submitted.

The Cahaba Law Group LLC

Randal S. Ford

205 / 759-3232

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Answered on 4/20/04, 5:34 pm
Robert Kreitlein Robert Kreitlein, Attorney at Law

Re: UnISURED MOTORIST

Hmm, that's an interesting one. On what basis did the police rule the accident your fault if the witnesses saw the other driver run a red light? Did the other driver have insurance? If the other driver had insurance, her insurance company may elect to pay her and then sue you to get their money back. If she does not have insurance, she will have to get an attorney and sue you herself. The findings on a police report can be wrong and you can prove that they are wrong in court, but it depends on what kind of evidence you have and what the report says.

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Answered on 4/20/04, 5:35 pm


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