One driver holding up entire claim

I have posted on here regarding a multiple vehicle accident I was involved in, in Dec and this claim is still open and has been a mess. The driver's insurance co. sucks, but the adjustor has blamed another driver for the hold-up,,,,, this guy was side-swiped, and we waited forever for him to get his damage repaired,,, now the adjustor is waiting for all of the releases to get returned,, everyone has returned theirs but this guy,,,, he does not answer his phone and to me, he's been shady all along,, he's claiming medical too,,,Ive spoken to another driver (3 drivers so far Ive spoken to) Tuesday, and he says the adjustor says they cant get a hold of the guy,,, and I need to get paid for my car,,,, I am sick of waiting. I told my atty this,, and he sent yet another letter off to the adjustor asking about this a couple days ago,,,,,, my atty also says he knows how to handle companies like this,,, and I mentioned to him what you said about AZ not allowing third party bad-faith lawsuits, and he says he knows exactly what he can file,, and he says he is doing absolutely everything he can and this insurance company is a "hack",,, and I dont think this one driver should continue to delay the entire claim. (Sighhhhhh),,, I say they need to go ahead and disperse the checks and give this guy or his insurance their share that was disclosed in the settlement, and thats it... we are all mad over this, and one driver said he was going to contact the Board of Insurance on this co. but I said  nooo,, my atty says we dont want to step on any toes since they have the money,, he is waiting for a response from the ins. company on how much time theyre going to give this guy to sign his release... they were late sending one to one of the drivers, and I relayed this info to the atty also,,,,thanks

It sounds like the driver that hit you has the bare minimum insurance required under the law and his coverage will probably not cover the entire damage to all of the vehicles so they are waiting on the final estimates so they can send out the insurance money in a percentage of the damage to all of the vehicles involved.

I was in a multi car accident approx 9 years ago and did not have to wait for the other drivers to get my vehicle fixed by the insurance company of the driver that hit me.

You can alaways go through your insurance and let them attempt to recover the money from the other drivers insurance company.

Or you can take the driver to court taht hit you for the damages to your vehicle.

Azgal36:

to me, he's been shady all along,, he's claiming medical too,

That doesn't necessarily make him shady. And a medical claim has nothing to do with the property damage liability limit.

Azgal36:

I need to get paid for my car,,,, I am sick of waiting.

That's understandable. But (sorry to have to say this) it was your choice to go without collision coverage and not have money set aside for the possibility of losing your car.

Azgal36:

my atty also says he knows how to handle companies like this,,, and I mentioned to him what you said about AZ not allowing third party bad-faith lawsuits, and he says he knows exactly what he can file

Well, I was in the insurance industry in AZ for over 30 years and I'd sure like to know what he thinks he's going to "file".

Azgal36:

this insurance company is a "hack",,, and I dont think this one driver should continue to delay the entire claim.

Unfortunately, one driver CAN delay the entire claim. The insurance company isn't doing anything wrong by insisting that all claimants agree on their settlement before anybody gets paid. That insurance company actually has an absolute right to do that when the total amount of the losses exceed the policy limit.

Azgal36:

I say they need to go ahead and disperse the checks and give this guy or his insurance their share that was disclosed in the settlement, and thats it...

Not gonna happen.

Azgal36:

we are all mad over this, and one driver said he was going to contact the Board of Insurance on this co. but I said nooo,, my atty says we dont want to step on any toes since they have the money,,

You were right to say nooo but for the wrong reason. The reason you don't file a complaint with the insurance department is because the insurance company isn't doing anything wrong. And that's exactly what the response would be from the insurance department if you did file a complaint.

Sorry Jack,, I know youre right about alot of this,, but this guy has no right to delay this claim like this,, he's not out anything,, his car was repairable,,,,its been fixed,, and the fact he doesnt answer his phone and no one can get a hold of him is shady,,,

He also knows I am owed alot for my car,,,, two other drivers saw that and returned their releases immediately,,, this guy holding everything up is not out anything,, so what does it matter that he doesnt return his release,,, the adjustor has not worked efficiently to get this claim closed also,, the atty even says that.... and he explained to me what he can file, but its alot of paperwork and the at-fault drunk driver would have to get involved some how, he mentioned what the law allows,,, he's handled lots of accidents over the years. As a common courtesy knowing 3 of us need to be paid for our vehicles,, this driver should sign his release and turn it in...., he's playing a game and the other drivers are asking how he can be allowed to delay the claim and not even contact the adjustor,,, if he is not agreeing to something he needs to return calls to the adjustor, agreed here?

Did the driver in question go through his insurance company to get his vehicle fixed?

If the other driver is waiting for his injuries to heal before filing his claim he is free to do so.

If the drunk drivers insurance company fix this drivers car then they already know what the damage is and how much it cost.

If I were the other driver, I might ignore repeated calls to my house and might consider them harrassment. I would be dealing with my atty if I had one or the insurance company (Mine or the other drivers).

There's a new wrinkle in there. Either you didn't mention it before or I didn't notice it.

Azgal36:

but this guy has no right to delay this claim like this,, he's not out anything,, his car was repairable,,,,its been fixed,

That his (let's call him "claimant no answer") car is fixed means his own insurance company paid for the repairs. Once his insurance company pays, "claimant no answer" is out of the picture and his insurance company is the one that has the right of recovery from the drunk driver's insurance company.

If the adjuster from the dd's insurance company is still looking for a release from "claimant no answer", that's not gonna happen. The release needs to come from "claimant no answer's" insurance company.

Azgal36:

the fact he doesnt answer his phone and no one can get a hold of him is shady,,,

No, it isn't. He's done with his car damage claim. He has no obligation to to deal with anybody else on that. Nor has he any obligation to contact the dd's insurance company about the injury until he's ready to do so.

Azgal36:

the adjustor has not worked efficiently to get this claim closed also,,

Azgal36:

the atty even says that.... and he explained to me what he can file, but its alot of paperwork and the at-fault drunk driver would have to get involved some how, he mentioned what the law allows,,, he's handled lots of accidents over the years.

Azgal36:

As a common courtesy knowing 3 of us need to be paid for our vehicles,, this driver should sign his release and turn it in...., he's playing a game and the other drivers are asking how he can be allowed to delay the claim and not even contact the adjustor,,, if he is not agreeing to something he needs to return calls to the adjustor, agreed here?

No.

I already explained why "claimant no answer" is out of the picture with regard to the vehicle damage. Unfortunately, neither your feelings nor your beliefs are going to change that.

If your lawyer thinks he can get you paid by "filing" something, then I suggest you turn him loose and let him file it. It doesn't appear that letters and talking are going to get you paid any time soon.

Yesterday, I finally talked to this "other driver" the insurance company is blaming for "holding up the claim." He called me and we talked for about 30 mins,,,, he says he had no idea we were waiting to get paid for our cars and his shoulder got jarred pretty bad from the side-swipe and he is still being treated medically,,,, he says his own insurance fixed his Jeep in early Jan, and hes not sure why the adjustor was telling everyone we're "waiting on the Jeep" all the way until the middle of March.  He said he was going to call his insurance co. and find out more info since he is suspicious as to why it took the at-fault's insurance co so long to settle the property damage. As far as his release is concerned, he says the ins. company sent him something wanting him to sign both medical and property over at the same time,, he said No way, he's not signing anything medical-related until he's done with treatment. He said he has no problem signing any property release since his Jeep was fixed and he just wants to get paid his deductible ($500) back,,, he says he hasnt had any contact with the adjustor other than the strange document they sent him, which he felt was a trick to get him to sign some stuff he wasnt ready to sign. He said he was going to call the adjustor and leave her a message as to what she needs from him to get the property part of the claim closed. **Update***I relayed my atty this information yesterday afternoon,,, coin... he had just recvd something from them yesterday. He says this insurance company wants to withdraw the settlement offer for the property!!! He says we signed everything, sent it back at the end of march, and its a legally binding contract,, see now why we havent gotten any money and nothing but excuses from the adjustor?? He said he's given them 10 days to send a check for my car (on the agreed amount) or else he's suing for breach of contract. Ive been saying all along, something is not right with this company. Now look whats happened.

Azgal36:

Yesterday, I finally talked to this "other driver" the insurance company is blaming for "holding up the claim." He called me and we talked for about 30 mins,,,, he says he had no idea we were waiting to get paid for our cars and his shoulder got jarred pretty bad from the side-swipe and he is still being treated medically,,,, he says his own insurance fixed his Jeep in early Jan, and hes not sure why the adjustor was telling everyone we're "waiting on the Jeep" all the way until the middle of March. He said he was going to call his insurance co. and find out more info since he is suspicious as to why it took the at-fault's insurance co so long to settle the property damage. As far as his release is concerned, he says the ins. company sent him something wanting him to sign both medical and property over at the same time,, he said No way, he's not signing anything medical-related until he's done with treatment. He said he has no problem signing any property release since his Jeep was fixed and he just wants to get paid his deductible ($500) back,,, he says he hasnt had any contact with the adjustor other than the strange document they sent him, which he felt was a trick to get him to sign some stuff he wasnt ready to sign. He said he was going to call the adjustor and leave her a message as to what she needs from him to get the property part of the claim closed.

That appears to confirm my earlier thoughts about the subrogation and release form.

Azgal36:

**Update***I relayed my atty this information yesterday afternoon,,, coin... he had just recvd something from them yesterday. He says this insurance company wants to withdraw the settlement offer for the property!!! He says we signed everything, sent it back at the end of march, and its a legally binding contract,, see now why we havent gotten any money and nothing but excuses from the adjustor?? He said he's given them 10 days to send a check for my car (on the agreed amount) or else he's suing for breach of contract.

I tend to agree that the property damage settlement/release is a binding contract and does give your attorney something to sue for.