Car-Bicycle Accident With No Insurance

[johnnygaijin]

My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: Washington

my girlfriend was hit by a car while riding her bicycle. the guy stopped but seemed nervous and took off before the police arrived. the police classified it as a hit and run on the report. my girlfriend was taken by ambulance to the hospital where 10 grand in bills were accrued. we hired a lawyer who dropped our case when he found out the guy who hit her didn't have insurance. my girlfriend does not have insurance either.

so we're looking at $10,000 in hospital bills plus a couple days of missed work plus about $150 in damage to the bicycle.

the guy who hit her apparently (last i heard) does not have a job so even if we could find a lawyer who would be willing to sue i don't know that we could collect.

it would be nice for my girlfriend to receive some kind of compensation for the hurt and trouble she's been through but mostly we just want our bills paid.

what can we do?

any information would be very appreciated. thanks!

[jk]

Not overly familiar with Washington so more of a suggestion than anything.


Does Washington have a state controlled fund to assist in uninsured motorist accidents that would pay for the not at fault parties injuries in a situation such as this? I woulld contact the DMV and the states attorney general office to inquire.

Short of such a fund, there really isn;t anything you can do other than what you have attempted already. You can sue but that does not mean you will get your money, just a judgement. Sometimes life sucks.

[chuckycheese]

So, who was at fault?? You didn't mention that. ("Hit and split" is a separate issue.)

[ashman165]

Was this on a public roadway, or a parking lot or what?

The "fault" issue is relevant to who's liable for what bills.

The hit and run is a separate issue, and if your girlfriend actually sustained injuries is a felony in Washington State. RCW 46.52.020

I know you said something about your girlfriend not having insurance. But I suppose that means on the bike? Or in general? You might want to check through RCW 48.22.030 to see what is applicable to you.

Also, some credit cards have certain insurances available to them under certain conditions. If she has one, she might want to check her policy to see if anything there is applicable.

I hate to say it, but if the guy has no job (presumably no real property either?), then you can perhaps get a judgment against him and a lien on his future earnings if any. But that doesn't help you right now, sadly.

You can always speak to a lawyer for a consultation. Many in the greater Seattle area offer consultations for free. Those are the ones you'd want to talk to because you probably don't want to pay an attorney to tell you he can't do anything to help you.

[johnnygaijin]

oh yeah forgot to mention the driver was at fault. my girlfriend has no credit card or insurance of any kind. it happened on a public road.

[Betty3]

I would then take jk's advice & see if Washington *might* have a state fund that will help her with the medical bills.

The only other option is to sue but if the other party has no income/assets there will be nothing to collect. You can sue in small claims court in Wa. (w/o a lawyer) for only up to $4,000. Since the bills are more than that, you would have to sue in a "higher" court with a lawyer.