Civil Lawsuit protection / Is there insurance a driver can get while driving as company driver.

I want to add something to my comment. As a driver, if a lawsuit is "settled" before court almost 100% of the time this will take you off the hook. If you are part of a case make dang sure your legal interests are taken care of until there is a resolution OR you get the Judge to agree to the motion in court to remove you. Ignorance of the legal process is what gets most drivers in trouble.

 

The company would have been removed by the insurance company. Again, they have their own attorneys that handle this stuff. Sounds to me like the company did not have insurance

 

There was plenty of insurance. The main problem was there was no settlement and the case was that rare case that went to trial and a jury awarded damages. As I stated it took Chapter 7 to get that attorney off his back later. I'm not disagreeing with your basic premise. I'm just stating it's not automatic, and any driver that finds themselves on a lawsuit should get an attorney until such a time they are not.

 

Remember in some places they award a percentage of the blame to all the parties. In this case, the driver was responsible for close to $100,000 bucks. Had it not been for Chapter 7 he would have lost everything.

 

Most of the time when such a lawsuit is filed the plaintiffs attorney will start the discovery process. They will seek all the driver's records DMV, HOS, etc. Most attorneys will want these records before they will even talk about a settlement. If they find evidence of illegal activity the settlements are going to be expensive. Insurance settlements also include deductibles. In this case, the actual amounts were never released but I do know even with the insurance the carrier had to pay some money. These kinds of legal matters can be very complex and there are no one size fits all solutions. You as a driver, if you find yourself part of a lawsuit HIRE an attorney ASAP. This attorney can stay passive and is there to watch for your best interests. As I clearly stated, you can't count on anything being automatic in a lawsuit.

 

Moose, I've actually been through this a few time when I sued people, the last one was just in January with the guy who owned the truck that hit my car. He lost his attempt to get the settlement discharged, when I went to the 341 hearing, the judge asked "are you kidding me?" and said no way would this be discharged but put at the top of the creditor list. I got a notice a couple weeks back that I will be receiving the money that he was trying to get out of paying because the trustee is actually moving to liquidate all his assets to pay the creditors.

 

Yes, I covered this in the last paragraph in my comment #21 in this thread. Getting even a debt NOT part of that list I mentioned discharged is not automatic. A creditor (or anyone owed money) has the right to show the Judge the person seeking discharge has the means to pay the debt. My main point though is most situations that don't involve being drunk or wonked out on drugs someone that can't pay a judgement can get a discharge. Section 523 of USC 11 is clear about what is dischargable and what is not.

The case I know about came out of Alabama. There were several deaths involved and the lawsuit I believe was filed asking for (30 million?) The carrier played hardball and even though their driver was listed at fault the Jury came back with an award the Judge lowered. The driver was NOT removed from the lawsuit and was held to owe almost $100,000 to the plaintiffs. The Driver finally filed Chapter 7 in Birmingham and got a discharge.

I'm not an attorney. All I can do is link to USC 11 section 523. I can't dispense legal advice. I do know however that Judges have wide latitude in how they interpret section 523 and someone's ability to pay a debt. This is why my best and only real advice is to hire an attorney if you get served with a lawsuit. Don't trust anyone or anything until that judge actually says you are dismissed from said suit.

 

The reason they also sue the driver is because of a legal principle called vicarious liability. Your employer can be held liable for torts you commit while performing your duties as his employee. So, if they can get a finding that you were liable your employer has to pay, even if they can not show that he was liable. The defendant with the money is always the real target in a civil lawsuit. The rest is just strategy.

It seems unlikely an insurance company would sell you a liability policy if you are running under some else's authority. It's double insurance and just a big sign saying come sue us.

Also, have you looked at what trucking liability insurance costs?

See Vicarious Liability .

 

There is also a simple reason most drivers are not paying awards that don't involve bankruptcy. Simply put the carriers (or their insurance carrier) or both, settle. Money changes hands and all is well. Another important point. Not all defendants have to settle. I vaguely remember a case from way back when, a driver settled with a family on his own and was removed from the lawsuit that continued against the carrier and I think a shop that did some shotty repair work. Lawsuits are complex things way past the expertise of most that post on these boards. Some states limit awards. I guess some states also have differing rules when it comes to depositions and what is allowed under the discovery rules. I think the best course for drivers is to avoid getting in that situation to start with!

 

You can get insurance for anything.
Contact Lloyd’s, now whether you can afford the premiums is another thing.