Location: Chicago
A few months ago I was driving when I struck 2 pedestrians jaywalking. I was turning as they were crossing the street, at the same time someone was running a red light – so while I was watching the car I didn’t see the pedestrians. After hitting them one of the pedestrians (I’ll refer to as P2) got up and slammed a box into my windshield, cracking it. The other pedestrian (P1) was brought to the hospital (despite saying she didn’t want to go) while the other one did not. The police asked me if I wanted to press charges for the broken windshield but – considering I had just hit them with a car – I declined to. P1’s hospital bills are upwards of $40,000 while my insurance only covers $25,000. My agent contacted the husband of the P1 to inform him of the coverage. Afterwards P2 (who is apparently the son of P1) contacted my insurance adjuster and threatened him with physical violence, P2 then threatened to vandalize my car. My insurance are basically shrugging their shoulders here. I’m stuck with a 20,000$ bill, a broken windshield, and threats. I live in close proximity to the pedestrians and park on the street. What should I do here?
Comments
If he takes the $25,000 then he’s going to sign a release of liability that he can’t go after anything else. But confirm that with your insurance company.
Your insurance adjuster can report any threats made to them to the police if they want to do so. There is no legal requirement that they do so.
You can report any threats made to you to the police if you want to do so. There is no legal requirement that you do so either just like there is no guarantee that the police will do anything if either the adjuster or you do report something.