I was on the job going from one location to the next, on the clock and driving a company car. I got rear-ended and the car was totaled. I went to the hospital by ambulance and my injuries are still really bad.
My business had/has full coverage on all vehicles, but the negligent driver who smashed into me did not have any auto insurance. However, my boss has Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM).
I sought counsel and got an attorney to represent me. Upon my attorney contacting the insurance adjuster, she informed him that L & I (Labor and Industries, a.k.a. Workers Compensation) would be covering everything, and that I couldn’t go after the UIM policy.
Can we get around this somehow to go after the UIM as well? Thank you for your time.
Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.
Answer
Dear Andi,
Unfortunately, if your employer was required by law to carry workers compensation insurance your first option will be to pursue a claim against the employer’s workers comp insurance company.
There is another option…
You still have a legal right to pursue the at fault driver. Whether she has insurance or not should be her problem and not yours.
You can go ahead and treat your injuries through workers compensation, but at the same time investigate the at fault driver.
You want to know a couple of things…
Was she working at the time of the collision. If so, was her car owned by her employer? If it was you may be able to pursue her employer and her employer’s insurance company. If the car actually was a “company car” you can pursue a legal claim against the employer as well.
Finally, you might investigate the at fault driver’s assets. You can do so by employing a couple of methods…
The first is by retaining a personal injury attorney. If you can convince a personal injury to accept your case the attorney can subpoena her financial records to see if she has any assets worth pursuing. Otherwise you can hire a private investigator to do the same.
Learn more here: Accidents with Uninsured or Underinsured Drivers
The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.
Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.
We wish you the best with your claim,
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