If you suffer an injury in an auto accident, there are many challenges that may lie ahead of you. Unfortunately, battling with an insurance company can sometimes be one of them. That is one of many areas where an experienced Louisiana auto accident attorney can help you – by using the tools available in the legal system to give you every chance to get what’s coming to you. In the case of one woman and her stepson, who were rear-ended at a traffic signal, the Louisiana Court of Appeal revived their lawsuit, concluding that the insurer had not submitted the right type of evidence to prove that a valid cancellation of the at-fault driver’s insurance policy had taken place before the accident occurred.
On June 1, 2015, the woman was driving on Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge when she was rear-ended while stopped at a traffic light. The driver, along with her stepson (who was a passenger in the vehicle), sued the driver who rear-ended them, as well as that driver’s auto insurance company.
The insurance company, in its defense, argued that it could not be liable for the plaintiffs’ injuries. The policy it had issued to the at-fault driver was financed through a third-party company, and, since the driver had fallen behind on his payments to the finance company, the insurer had canceled the policy a week before the accident took place.
Being able to proceed in court against an at-fault driver’s insurance company can be very important to your auto accident case, greatly increasing your chances of obtaining a full and fair recovery. Without that claim, your ability to obtain your recovery could rest upon the at-fault driver’s individual ability to pay and the terms of your own auto insurance policy (with regard to uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage).
In this case, the trial court ruled for the insurer, but the Court of Appeal reversed that decision and allowed the plaintiffs to proceed against the insurance company. The plaintiffs were able to persuade the appeals court that the proof presented to the trial court wasn’t sufficient to show conclusively that a legally valid cancellation had occurred. The insurer submitted to the court its initial policy and the initial financing agreement. However, the basis for the injured plaintiffs’ claim against the insurer wasn’t the initial policy; it was founded upon a policy renewal set to cover the driver from January to July 2015, and the insurer did not submit documented proof of the financing agreement related to the policy renewal.
Without that document or other proof that demonstrated what the terms of the finance agreement through which the at-fault driver financed his premiums on the policy renewal were, the court said “we are unable to determine whether the policy was validly cancelled or whether such cancellation was in compliance with LSA-R.S. 9:3550.”
Your auto accident case will create several hurdles for you. One of these hurdles often involves taking on an insurance company. You need knowledgeable injury counsel fighting for your side. The skilled Louisiana auto accident attorneys at the Cardone Law Firm have been helping people injured in accidents for many years in taking on insurance companies and fighting for what’s due them.
For your confidential consultation, contact us online or phone Cardone at 504-522-3333.
More Blog Posts:
Court of Appeal Upholds Bad-Faith Damages Award Against Insurer in Central Louisiana Auto Accident, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, July 12, 2017
Will Auto Insurance Cover a Driver with a Suspended License?, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, June 29, 2017