My dad got killed by a drunk driver. Is it possible to file a claim for pain & suffering?
January 13, 2010 - 8:33 pm
My dad got killed by a drunk driver. Is it possible to file a claim for pain & suffering against the insurance company?
Is there mandatory PIP coverage in North Carolina.?
Is there a survivor benefit on the bare basic insurance policy in North Carolina?
Any other help is appreciated.
My dad’s policy is with Allstate & the drunk driver’s policy is with Integon.
I’m getting poor response from both companies.
January 13th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
no, but its possible to say it as uncalled for disaters or loss of a loved one and i am so sorry for you
January 13th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Yes, talk to a lawyer.
To win the suit is one thing, to collect another. So make sure you do not have to pay the lawyer unless you win the suit and collect!
January 13th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Sorry for your loss….you should be able to…check with a law firm or lawyer…
January 13th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
NC is not a PIP state. However, NC does have Medical Payments coverage. It is an optional coverage. So your dad’s policy may not have it. If your dad’s policy has this coverage, it will pay toward a funeral bill (if your dad passed away prior to any medical treatment – so no medical bills were incurred).
The estate would have a claim for pain/suffering, wrongful death etc. Any other actions would be sub-actions of the estates claim. They would not be separate actions in their own right.
NC state minimum limits are 30-60-25. Limits always read as a fraction. The first number is the max amount payable to any 1 person for bodily injury (regardless of severity). The second number is the max payable for all injuries arising out of the accident. The last number is for all property damage in the wreck.
So, if the drunk driver had minimum limits – the max that could be paid on your dad’s claim is 30,000.
Although 30-60-25 is the minimum, higher limits can be purchased. Your agent will be able to tell you what your dad has on his policy.
Then your dad’s estate would file an Under-Insured motorist claim against Dad’s policy. In NC – UIM coverage does not stack. So you can only get to the UIM coverage that is on the car Dad was driving. The estate would be able to recover for any amount above the drunk drivers liability coverage.
So– If your dad had UIM coverage of 50-100 and the drunk driver had liability coverage of 30-60 – then your dad’s estate could get 30K from the drunk driver + 20K from the UIM for a total of 50K.
If the drunk driver had liability limits of 30-60 and your dad had UIM limits of 30-60 – the liability would pay 30K and the UIM would pay nothing. (remember it pays only above the liability limits).
There could be a couple of things affecting the insurance company responses:
1. if you or the estate has hired an attorney – the adjusters can’t talk to you. They are not allowed to talk to you with out the attorneys permission. As such, if you call them – and you have an attorney – the adjuster will not call you back.
2. several people are calling on your family’s behalf. The adjuster is not going to go over the same information with 3 different family members. And when too many family members try to handle the claim – it just mucks it up. The left hand and the right hand don’t know what the other is doing. So if more than one person is calling – the adjuster will probably not call all of you back. Pick 1 person – a family spokes person- the person who will be the Personal Representative of the Estate to be the family contact. Have just 1 person calling the insurance companies.
3. Has a personal Representative been named for the estate? If not, contact probate court and get that done. The insurance company can’t do anything – can’t issue any payments with out a raised seal copy of the PR paperwork. The folks down at probate court can tell you how to set up the estate and the PR.
If you need more help – have the family spokes person go to Dad’s agents office and sit down with them. A good insurance agent will be able to help you with the Allstate end of the claim. If they can’t explain how the coverages work – then the agent should be able to get in contact with an adjuster or manager in the claims department that can.
I’m sorry for your loss.