Brat1

Okay, I'll try and make this as brief as possible. As a lot of you on here will know, we had an incident with our Rottweiler just after we moved here last year, which involved our neighbours daughter who needed hospital treatment, and our dog was subsequently put to sleep, even though we weren't ordered to, we decided that the trust had gone and there were going to be too many restrictions on him to make it possible.

Anyway, we had renters insurance which covered the dog and his breed. Unfortunately, because our insurance company have ignored our neighbours lawyers letter regarding the bills for the medical treatment etc, there is a lawsuit being filed and I'm expecting a sheriff officer at the door in the next couple of days

I've never been in trouble, I am now in meltdown and can only think of the implications all this is going to have. What the hell do I do, I'm heading down to my insurance office this morning to find out what's going on, but if this goes to court, how's that going to effect our Green card application, our financial situation, has anyone encountered anything like this before. I'm going out of my mind with worry, we'd been thinking of buying a house, but now, I'm thinking that is the least of my worries. Any advice, an odd slap here or there to knock me back to reality instead of the hysteria I'm currently in would be greatly appreciated.........

lisa67

Oh Brat1 I'm so sorry to hear of the hassle you're having to go through.
I'm afraid I can't offer any legal advice but hopefully someone who can will come along soon.
I can only suggest that you try and keep calm (easier said than done I'm sure) at least until you know for definite what you're up against.
Sending hugs for support!

Brat1

Thanks Lisa, I am hysterical this morning as I've been reading up on this. My neighbour said it was nothing to worry about and just forget about it, but I can't just forget about something so serious. We are good friends and I don't want this to damage our friendship, this is just horrible. Hopefully I can get some answers out of the insurance company this morning. Thanks again, just needed some moral support

Egg and Cress

Hang in there, Brat!. For moral support, you've probably got nearly the whole membership in your corner. If the neighbor on whose behalf the suit is being filed says not to worry about it, it may be that the insurance companies are simply battling it out between themselves to see who's going to foot the bill for what. Good luck and please keep us posted!

Michael

This is a civil lawsuit and shouldn't have any effect on your green card. Insurance companies tend to drag their feet as a negotiating strategy but when it comes to just medical bills, they would be wise to settle since typically courts will also award pain and suffering.

There is likely a statute of limitation as to when the injured party must file a lawsuit so therefore it was filed before they lost their legal right. Sometimes insurance companies will muck everything up but don't get too concerned about it. Once the insurance company realizes that the injured party is not just going to walk away without payment, they will settle but will now likely have to pay more than they would have paid earlier (injured parties lawyers fees and some pain and suffering, etc.).

The problem may also not be the insurance company but could be the injured party who may be demanding far more than the medical bills and is trying to take advantage of the situation.

It is nothing to be worried or get upset about but just the normal process. Normally if your dog had not bitten someone before or you were not put on notice about potential issues with your dog, you don't have anything to worry about and your insurance company will handle the situation.

Brat1

Thanks so much guys, I appreciate it. I may have a better understanding when I go speak to the insurance this morning, but this is just horrible and just the last straw at the moment. Thanks again.

Nutmegger

I agree with Michael -- a civil suit should have no effect on your green card. You carried the appropriate insurance, and it is your insurance company who haven't kept up their end of the bargain, thus landing you in this situation. So chin up and give 'em hell at the office today. Glad that things are still OK with you and the neighbors -- they seem to understand that it isn't your fault that the settlement hasn't been made and aren't holding it against you.

fatbrit

As others have said, it's a civil case, not a criminal one.

How much help you can expect from the insurance company depends on the policy. Let's say that there's no obligation in the policy to provide your legal defence and the coverage limits are $10k, but your dogs did at least $20k of potential damage. In that case, the insurance company will simply write the check for $10k and walk away -- their liability for your negligence is complete, and they're off the hook.

Now let's say that the scenario is the same but your coverage limits are $100k. Here the insurance company has an interest in keeping the damages as low as possible, and will want to defend you in court.

You need to find out which way they're swinging on this to see if you need your own representation.

Brat1

Thanks guys and sorry for posting this in the wrong place earlier

Still waiting to hear back from the insurance, all the girl at the local office can tell me is that the case is still "open"! Well I bloody know that and I'm no rocket scientist, so we'll wait and see what crap they come back with and then I can decide how much of the Glaswegian is going to come rising to the surface

sir_eccles

As in this and any similar situation. Make sure you get the name of the person you're talking to, some sort of reference number and of course the magical phrase "can I get that in writing".

Brat1

Thanks Sir_eccles, good advice and will do exactly that

Redwing

Brat1, I am sorry that this is getting you upset, but I can well understand it. It's a shock, and you naturally worry. Having said that, I don't think you have much to worry about, since it is a civil suit, and I echo what Sir_eccles has said. If you find that the insurance company is giving you the runaround, turn on your Scot's charm, and casually ask them for the phone number and address of the state insurance commissioner, at the same time suggesting that he/she may be more helpful. Please let us know how things go, as we are all pulling for you.

Michael

I agree completely but just to add that insurance companies will generally settle immediately if someone is suing for just out of pocket expenses. It becomes a problem when someone is suing for pain and suffering.

In the 1960's, I rear ended someone who was previously in a car accident and already had a neck brace on from that car accident. When the police arrived, we were both talking to the police officer when the police officer asked if anyone was injured and needed an ambulance and he said "dam yes" so when the ambulance arrived, he stepped into the back of the ambulance.

About 3 years later while I was living in Germany, I received a summons in the mail for that accident and said "dam, I'm going to have to fly back to the US and put up myself at my own expense" so went to see a US attorney. He said just ignore the summons since it was only filed due to statute of limitations and my insurance company will take care of the problem. I never again heard anything about the case.

The guy that I rear ended was unshaven and driving an old run down car and suspect that he was out to make money off of any accident that he was involved in since prior to the police officer arriving, he didn't mention that he was injured when we were standing around waiting for the police to arrive. The accident was obviously my fault and my insurance company would have likely settled immediately if that person was only suing for the damage to his car and any medical bills.

So if you are worried, it is very likely you are upsetting yourself about nothing other than a little guilt that you may feel. So just go about your days as if nothing happened and you will be much better off since the lawsuit will likely not affect you in one way or another. It is just the way the system works. So your statement "This could be bad" is a bit of over dramatization.

Tarkak9

(If there is outstanding costs above your insurance policy limits... that is where one privately pursues.)

Document everything. Write notes of recaps of conversations which you have had and with whom, including names, times and dates. Telephone conversations with insurance companies are going to be recorded, remember that! I wouldn't take your neighbour's friendliness of "just ignore it" - doing so may just hurt you further later. Personally, I'd refrain from discussing the subject with your neighbour. Ignoring it totally will most likely result in a default judgement which has more ramification upon you... credit record etc.

Obviously, one wants to know why the insurance company has put this off etc... if its stall tactics, that's one thing, but you obviously want to get to the bottom of it.

Ofcourse, you could always file grievances and complaints against the insurance company in question with your state's regulatory agency why they've ignored the case/claim etc.

http://www.ct.gov/cid/site/default.asp

I had a civil matter this year, which won't get into, but consulted an hour of legal consul. Debt laws vary from state to state, for instance, in CO if its shown that the debtee is executing their rights to collect within relevant deadlines and limitations, then the clock and rights basically starts all over again for them... its sorta like an extension 'tactic'; in otherwords, things just don't fall off record after a period of time. Bugger. Winning is one thing, collecting is a bigger battle.

Brat1

Thanks for all the advice guys and apologies if I was over dramatising when I wrote this morning

I immediately thought that if I have to go to court for any kind of reason, this could cause problems with our permanent residency application, it's just been a rough ride recently which I've dealt with, but there's only so much I can take at one time. So again, thanks everyone.