Good Lord, that is a mess.

Find the meanest, nastiest lawyer you can. This guy deserves it!!

I talked to a guy yesterday I think is right for the job. I was told I cant do anything really until the insurance companies pay out all they are going to pay out then go after the difference. I just got home and the guy opened the door and looked me in the eye and then shut the door quickly. Can you believe this guy he has no balls!

I'm a little obsessed with this thread....its just so ridiculous!!

Man I hope everything works out for you.

Thats such a nice looking car.

Best of luck.

That spineless drunk hit your property with some speed.....so much damage !

It's a shame so many people have no work ethic, responsability, honor, or just plain balls to come clean and be a man.

I'm dealing with about the same thing from being hit by a distracted driver who ran a stop sign, and plowed into me while I was driving my 83 Porsche 944. He ended up with a scratch on his head and a totalled Saturn that belonged to someone else. I ended up with 4 broken ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken foot, cracked sternum, a lacerated liver, and later blood clots in both legs (about $100,000 in medical bills). GEICO state minimum coverage covers $25,000 for medical and only $12,500 for property damage. If I didn't have really good insurance, I would be covering the difference.

ckelly78z,
I am so sorry for what you are going through, it makes me realize how lucky I am. The law should be once you recover you get to inflict the same injuries upon him. It sucks losing everything and i hope you have a speedy recovery.

ckelly78z - I'm sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you're mending fast and will be able to recover without any lasting effects.

earlycar911 - That is a mess. I looked up the required liability limits for Delaware and was surprised that they only require $10k property coverage per accident. If your neighbor has $25k property damage then at least he tried to do better than the minimums. (Regardless, most state minimums won't cover a serious accident anymore.)

Unfortunately, I don't think you have any choice but to retain an attorney in order to recover your losses. I hope this all works out.

Get a lawyer and nail his ass to a stump. ****** jerk.

How fast do you figure he was going?

His insurance company contacted me today and said they would right the check for 25,000 dollars, which is the limit of his coverage, but I have to sign a release from suing him for the balance. What is messed up is they aren't arguing fault and they even admit that the damage exceeds the coverage limit, but they are trying to extort me. This shouldn't be legal! I am pissed!

Whoa I'd ask around first (not on the internet.) That seems odd.

You sir, need a lawyer. And I am usually the last to suggest that.

Don't sign anything.
Get a lawyer pronto.

Why would the insurance company care if you sued him for the difference?

No kidding, they're not on the hook for a dime over $25k, which they've already offered you.

Something's fishy.

They say their responsible to try to protect the client to the best of their ability. Does anyone have experience with this? I don't think there is any way around a law suit.

Have you talked to your agent? Have your homeowners cover you, then they will go after him and his insurance company, or
Get a really mean lawyer, and just go after him, or
Just go after him.......

I wasn't happy about having to get a lawyer for my "Pain and suffering" after my accident (first time I have ever needed a lawyer in 47 years), but wasn't going to get railroaded into signing something prematurely.

Do not sign anything till a person from the legal profession can go over the contract, you may be signing away any chance of full compensation. It wouldn't hurt to let this idiot feel some pressure, and sweat a bit about the pending outcome of a lawsuit.

I thought that is how it would works, but the homeowners excludes autos. And only pays out 15,700 for the garage. I had liability only on the truck and trailer.

Earlycar911 and Fanaudical, I have already accepted an offer to settle for the totaled Porsche, but the main lawsuit might be 2-3 years away from that point.

I have fully recovered over the last 6 months and am finally back to work (5 months off). I will always have a plate with pins and screws in my hip to remember it by, and my legs are still swollen, but am doing well. It's the getting old part that scares me about how mobile i'll be 20 years from now.