Tennessee Injury Law Center

My car was hit at a local intersection.  The guy that hit me ran the red light – and admitted that he did so – but he police officer didn’t even give him a ticket!  Why not?  I have called the officer four times to ask why but she won’t return my call.

Police officers have discretion about when they write a ticket, and sometimes they simply choose not to do so.  I must confess that I don’t always understand why tickets are issued in some cases and not in others,but the fact of the matter is that police officers do not issue tickets in many automobile wreck cases when they would have the perfect right to do so.

The fact that no ticket was written will almost certainly not hurt your case, especially if the police report indicates that the other driver admitted fault.   A statement by a police officer in a police report that the other driver admitted fault will carry a lot of weight with his insurance company as it decides whether or not to promptly resolve the claim. 

 I was in a car wreck last week.  I  spent five days in the hospital and am now recovering at home.  I am getting a couple calls a day from the insurance adjuster for the driver that hit me.  The message he left for me is that he wants to take a statement from me about how the wreck happened.  Should I talk to him and give him a statement?

We do not recommend that our clients give a statement to the other driver’s insurance company.  There are several exceptions to this general rule, but even then we do not permit our clients to give a statement without adequate preparation for the interview.

We do not prepare our clients by telling them what to say or encouraging them to lie.  In fact, just the opposite is true:  we encourage our clients to tell the truth about the circumstances giving rise to the wreck, the nature and extent of their injuries, and everything else.   Preparation is necessary because insurance adjusters are trained in asking questions, and may ask questions in such a way that the unprepared witness will make mistakes.   These statements are almost always tape-recorded and can be used against the person in court.

I was hurt in a head-on automobile accident.  The driver that crossed the centerline and hit me died in the wreck.   Do I have legal rights against him even if he is dead?

Yes.   Although you can’t sue someone who is dead, you can sue his estate.   If an estate is not opened for him, you (through your lawyer) can petition the court to have an estate opened so that you can sue it and collect the monies you are entitled to recover.

The fact that the person who hit you died does not relieve his insurance company of the obligation to defend the case and pay the monies to you that you are entitled to receive under the law (up to the liability insurance policy limits).  To the extent that the value of your case exceeds the amount of insurance available, you will also have a claim against the assets of the deceased driver.