Can a car accident victim and their insurance subrogation company sue me separately for the same thing?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a car accident victim and their insurance subrogation company sue me separately for the same thing?
I was the at fault party in an accident a few months back. The car I drove didn’t have insurance. The victim’s work insurance paid out her medical and hired a subrogation company to collect a reimbursement (of sorts) from me for the medical, her co-pays, and lost wages. The victim, however, also mentioned she would be suing me for her medical/co-pays. My question is, since the subrogation company has contacted me on her and her employers behalf, can she sue me once I pay them back? Seems if she did I’d be paying out twice.
Asked on November 11, 2011 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You don't have to pay the same damages, or compensation, twice, but you may have to pay both parties. For example: say someone suffering $20,000 of medical costs and $5,000 of lost wages. Say her insurance paid 80% of her medical and all but $500 of the lost wages: she then received $20,500 from her insurer, but is still out of pocket for the balance, or $4,500. The insurer could sue you for the $20,500 it paid out; then the person herself could sue you for the $4,500 she is out of pocket. Between the two of them, you should not have to pay more than the $25,000 total, but that total amount of damages could be split between insurer and insured.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.