Expert: Anne - 11/30/2009

Question
my father was in an accident; his car hit by another car on the side at intersection where both parties claimed to have a green light.  no witness.  police report not helpful to either party.  the passenger (wife in the 70s) in the other car was injured with hand fracture requiring surgery.  my father is adament about his green arrow light to turn but is very frustrated that he can't prove it and the other side has injury.  how big a liability issue is he facing?  he has 100k/300k coverage, what if the judgement is over that limit?  

Answer
Hello Al,

You have several questions here.

Fault/liability will have to be determined first. Many factors come into play, like the point of impact on both vehicles, the speed, how soon did each party saw each other, etc. In addition, state law might modify the recovery the other party gets. For a better understanding on how liability is determined, please see:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Fault-for-the-Accident.html

Regarding the injury,

Well, a fracture can lead to a high settlement. However, the injury itself will determine how much damages a persona gets. If the injury or fracture is permanent, then there is a high likelyhood that the settlement would be more. If the fracture is not permanent, then the settlement will be likely less.

For more about injury claims, please see:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/bodily-injury-claim.html

The question about an excess judgment has a long answer and there is not enough information here to "give you a good answer." In short, if the judgment is in excess of your policy limits, then you will be responsible for the excess. This is subject to a trial, and your insurance company securing their rights. If they do not settle for policy limits and you go to court and lose, they might owe the excess if you can show Bad faith.

Very rarely a personal injury case goes to trial, and even if that is the case, the insurance limits is what is paid. You this might be very well outside what could potentially happened to your father.

I hope this helps
Anne

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