Expert: Doctor Settlement - 7/13/2006

Question
My husband was in an accident two months ago. He was given a ticket for failer to give right of way. The lady that was involved in the accident called her husband who was on patrol and he came to the accident but was not the one that wrote the ticket. A witness came foward(the one that waved my husband trough) said that she had looked and the lady that was hit was not there when she waved Joel through. Our insurance company investigated the accident and decided not to pay the claim stating that they felt that the accident was not Joel's fault. We now are being sued by the lady that hit my husband. Can she sue us even though we have insurance? What do we do?

Answer
Dear Julie,

Here are the answers to your two questions.

1. Can she sue us even though we have insurance?
Yes, you and your husband can certainly be sued since his vehicle struck and injured another party.  Thus, he is the primary moving force of the injuries.

NOW, there is a defense that will be raised in that he was invited to proceed by a third party.  Thus, there may be legal defenses for your husband, but the court is the place where that will get sorted out.

Whether or not you have insurance is irrelevant to bringing a lawsuit.  The cause of action is against your husband, NOT against your insurance company.

All your insurance company will do is to defend you and pay damages up to the policy limits you purchased.  Yes, they will defend you even if they believe your husband is not at fault.

2. What do we do?
What you have to do is to report the lawsuit ASAP to your insurance company, if you have not already done so.  Secondly, you will have to cooperate fully with the attorney they will hire to defend you.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com