by Guest » Thu Jun 17, 2010 12:14 am
I was the driver of a vehicle that was owned and insured by my ex, listed as a driver. I was "given" the vehicle to transport our children to school etc. In September 2009, a restraining order was placed on him due to a home situation. In October 2009, my sticker was about to expire so I went to the auto insurance company to make the payment and get everything up to date. By chance, he was there, so I motioned the insurance agent outside to explain the situation, she took pictures, and assures me my ex had paid up and I was good to go. I took care of the stickers and thought all was well.
In Feb 2010 at 9am, I was on the way to my college. It was the beginning of bike week and there was tons of tourist traffic on the busy road I was traveling. I was coming up to a dangerous intersection when suddenly I saw a car coming head on in my lane...I was going to pull right but there was a vehicle there. To my left was an upcoming turn lane. There did not appear to be oncoming traffic, so in my panic thats where I steered my car. Unfortunately, I had not seen the car that was turning into that same lane and we collided. The car I was trying to avoid never stopped. My car was totalled, and I suffered 2 broken legs, a broken hip, all my ribs fractured, one lung was punctured by a rib and the other collapsed. Luckily, no one else was hurt, but there was property damage. I almost died.
My hospital bills, as you can guess, are more than I could afford in a lifetime...and just as I was coming out of my coma I discover my insurance had been cancelled 3 months prior. My ex blew off the payments and now I am being held at fault for everything. I can't get a lawyer at all and I don't know the first step to take to make things right and also so I don't lose everything I have. Thank you ahead of time for your assistance.
In Feb 2010 at 9am, I was on the way to my college. It was the beginning of bike week and there was tons of tourist traffic on the busy road I was traveling. I was coming up to a dangerous intersection when suddenly I saw a car coming head on in my lane...I was going to pull right but there was a vehicle there. To my left was an upcoming turn lane. There did not appear to be oncoming traffic, so in my panic thats where I steered my car. Unfortunately, I had not seen the car that was turning into that same lane and we collided. The car I was trying to avoid never stopped. My car was totalled, and I suffered 2 broken legs, a broken hip, all my ribs fractured, one lung was punctured by a rib and the other collapsed. Luckily, no one else was hurt, but there was property damage. I almost died.
My hospital bills, as you can guess, are more than I could afford in a lifetime...and just as I was coming out of my coma I discover my insurance had been cancelled 3 months prior. My ex blew off the payments and now I am being held at fault for everything. I can't get a lawyer at all and I don't know the first step to take to make things right and also so I don't lose everything I have. Thank you ahead of time for your assistance.
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 05:31 am Post Subject:
I hate to even bring this up but... you were driving someone else's vehicle that you not only did not date any longer but had a restraining order on.... you did this for a year????You then took for granted that he was going to keep paying the insurance on the vehicle for a year??? At what point did you think this was all going to be golden?
You were driving someone else's vehicle without insurance. If you feel you were not at fault you will need to provide yourself with a defense. There is no magical answer to your situation. Sorry to say, you made some really _bad_ decisions and failed to correct them over several months.
The other insurance company may offer to accept payments. They may just turn it over to a collection agency.
If you can't pay the property damage or your medical bills you may want to consider other financial options.
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 09:14 pm Post Subject: complex auto accident
Tcope:
You are right...I made some really, really bad decisions. We lived together for over 10 years and had children, it was more than a casual dating relationship. The vehicle was in his name, but I put significant investment in it too. It was "our" vehicle.
I am not trying to blame this all on him...it is only part of the picture. I am usually a cautious and intelligent girl...my problem is I trust too much. If I had recieved, as a listed driver, as I believe I should have...notification from the insurance co. that payments were behind...I would have taken care of it immediately.
I know there is no magical answer. I just thought someone out there may be able to point me in the right direction. No one saw this "phantom car" but me, and feel like I've been put in a very unfair position. But fair or not, I want the other drivers who were affected to be taken care of as well as myself. Unfortunately it may be out of my own pockets.
Thanks for your reply, have a good day.
Jen
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 09:17 pm Post Subject:
If I had recieved, as a listed driver, as I believe I should have
The insurance company was given an address to send notices to... they did just that. They can't be expected to look at every driver on every policy that is going to cancel and search for addresses on these people.Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 11:12 am Post Subject:
If it's any consolation to you at all...most states will hold the owner responsible as well...
In October 2009, my sticker was about to expire so I went to the auto insurance company to make the payment and get everything up to date. By chance, he was there, so I motioned the insurance agent outside to explain the situation, she took pictures, and assures me my ex had paid up and I was good to go. I took care of the stickers and thought all was well.
How long did she say the policy was paid up until? If only a month, then you should've checked back..or did she say he had paid the entire six month premium? What exactly did he pay this date?Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 05:37 am Post Subject:
Thank you for the response...I guess either way I should have checked up. To be honest, after a 14 year relationship, I never expected him to just drop payments and not take care of us. In the midst of the confusion, as the other poster stated, I did make some bad decisions. I had thought the payments were for 6 months, but I guess I was wrong. Payments were dropped the next month. Do you know of any other resources I could look into? Thanks again for your time and help.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 05:46 am Post Subject:
If your looking for a way to obtain coverage, I don't know of any and I really don't know of any recourse you would have. I'd certainly still file a claim with the your prior carrier and obtain a written denial.
Not to beat a dead horse but you mention that you obtained a restraining order against your ex but that you saw no reason why he would not continue to pay for insurance on a vehicle only you were using.
Without health insurance you'd need to address your medical bills as well. I'm no expert on finances but some type of bankruptcy might be your best bet. As I understand it, the laws on this have changed and it might not be possible to simply walk away from most debt.
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 08:57 pm Post Subject:
Hello,
Thanks again for your replies. I know this situation is hard to understand. For tcope, when this all went to court( to decide about the restraining order), the judge also granted me the house, the car and 100% custody of the children whilst the injunction was in order. I did ask, right then and there if my ex would continue to make the payments for rent and car whilst we were apart (no specific time frame was given). My ex volunteered "yes" under oath. By the next month, when I went to check on the insurance and he was there, making the payment, I assumed (unfortunately) when the agent said everything was paid up, that he would be making the payments. Before this, I was a stay at home Mom and he controlled the money, and he has plenty of it. Ironically, I was on my way to my new college classes trying to get my life back together (ei. not have to depend on him for ANYTHING) when this accident occured. I was not trying to take advantage of him or anyone, and I praise God my children were safely at school when this occured.
To get back to my questions...I have a new one. I recieved a letter that listed everyone involved in the accident. It is encouraging everyone to sign it, saying noone shall be sued by each other now or in the future regarding the accident if we do. I never intended to sue anyone else because the initial driver who caused the accident was never located. Is this something I should do? It is from the Highway Division of Financial Responsibility. Does this sound legitimate? I know I need to make some of my own phone calls but just wanted to see what people in general would think, or if anyone had been in a similar situation. Thanks again for youe time.
~~Jennifer~~
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 09:26 pm Post Subject:
Jennifer, does this letter (which I've never heard of coming from the dept of ins. by the way :? )...say that failure of one party to sign wil negate the entire agreement? Is there anyway you can remove any and all personal information and post this here? If not and you want to PM me with it I can remove those things and post it.
Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:29 pm Post Subject:
Lori, I do believe that it did say if one party disagreed, it would negate it. Unfortunately, a couple days later I recieved a summons for property damage from one of the listed parties - so I believe this option is unavailable now. Would you still like me to post it? If it would be helpful to others I certainly will. Let me know!
~~Jennifer~~
Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:50 am Post Subject:
sure, it would be helpful..I've never seen what you're talking about, (issued by the state)..and would like the chance to review it.
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