Who is responsible for this car accident

by Lisa
(New Orleans, Louisiana)

I was hit by a driver (18) years of age, slammed into a tree, fractured skull, tears in my neck, four buldging disc in neck, two buldging disc in my back and have recently found out that I have four pinched nerves in my shoulders and neck,

I was out of work for four 1/2 months, am still getting therapy and now botox shots in shoulders and cortizone shots in neck and shoulders,

It happened in December 2009, it was her mother's car and the insured was her mother, My medicals have now reached over $85.000.00 and they only had 10/20/10, Do I have the right to sue the insured (which is the mother), not the child because she was the just driver, not the owner or the named insured.



Answer:


Hello Lisa,

You can sue anyone. The question is, will it stick?

The answer is "maybe." Under certain statutes the vehicle owner will be responsible for the injuries caused by their vehicle. Under certain case law, the responsible party is the driver of the car (subject to the policy that protects that driver).

In this case, the driver is an adult (18 years old) and he/she may not have any assets other than the policy itself.

You really want to talk to an attorney about this. It's that important!

You need representation here. With that type of injuries you may be looking at a substantial settlement.

You may be able to collect against his/her insurance company and the collect against your own uninsured/underinsured policy (since the other driver is 18, he/she likely does not have much to collect).

See below