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Subrogation Process
STAGE 1-Submission of Claim to Attorney
STAGE 2-Attorney Evaluation of File
STAGE 3-Demand Letters
STAGE 4-The Litigation Process
STAGE 5-Suspension of Driver's Licenses and Vehicle Registrations
STAGE 6-Post-Judgment Settlements
STAGE 1---Submission of Claim to Attorney
When submitting an auto subrogation claim to Neil E. Polster, P.A., please provide as many of the following-described items as are applicable:
- claim activity log;
- correspondence to or from the tortfeasor, the owner, or the adverse carrier;
- liability supports including accident reports, expert reports, photographs and statements;
- property damage supports including checks, estimates, invoices, photographs, valuation reports, salvage disposition reports and rental bills;
- bodily injury supports such as the demand package, disability statements, medical narratives and PIP payout sheet;
- promissory notes with payment histories.
A C.S.R.P. (Certified Subrogation Recovery Professional) evaluates all new files. If a file is incomplete, we obtain additional information or documentation from your company, the insured, witnesses or databases. If there are significant problems with the case, we let you know.
Demand letters are sent to negligent drivers and all owners of the vehicle they were driving. This requires a database search since police reports never cite additional owners of vehicles, and often incorrectly identify the driver as the owner. Obviously, the more owners who face suit, the better the chances for recovery, as more driver’s licenses can be suspended upon entry of the anticipated Final Judgment.
If insurance coverage exists, customized demand letters are sent to the adverse carrier. Such letters include factual and legal arguments that often convince the carrier to settle. If the case does not settle, a lawsuit is filed unless the matter is subject to intercompany arbitration.
STAGE 4—The Litigation Process
In cases for $5,000.00 or less, the Defendant receives a summons requiring him to appear at a pre-trial conference in Small Claims Court. If he fails to appear, a Final Default Judgment is entered against him. If the Defendant appears at the pre-trial conference, mediation is usually held that day or shortly thereafter. There’s no need for your company to send a corporate representative to these mediations, so long as our firm has full settlement authority. If mediation is unsuccessful, Small Claims cases go to trial quickly, as there is seldom any discovery in these cases.
In cases for more than $5,000.00, a Final Default Judgment is entered against Defendants who fail to file a response to the lawsuit within twenty days of service. If a Defendant files a response that fails to controvert the material allegations of the lawsuit, a Motion for Final Judgment on the Pleadings is filed and generally granted.
In cases for more than $5,000.00 in which the Defendant denies material allegations of the lawsuit or raises legal defenses, the case must go to mediation before it goes to trial. At such mediations, the client must send a corporate representative. If mediation is unsuccessful, the scheduling of a trial is sometimes delayed by the discovery process.
At trial, the judge or jury determines the percentage of negligence attributable to the Defendant. The trier of fact also determines the amount of damages that the Plaintiff has suffered. A Final Judgment is entered for the percentage of the damages that corresponds to the percentage of negligence placed on the Defendant.
STAGE 5—Suspension of Driver’s Licenses and Vehicle Registrations
If the entry of a Final Judgment fails to result in payment within thirty days, we request the Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend the driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations of the Defendant driver and the Defendant owner(s) for a period of twenty years pursuant to the Financial Responsibility Statute.
STAGE 6—Post-Judgment Settlements
Most uninsured motorists will only settle after their driving privileges have been suspended. At that point, they can obtain reinstatement of their driving privileges by paying a lump sum of money that is acceptable to your company, or by entering into a payment plan that is acceptable to your company. Such plans generally require significant down payments and monthly payments on the balance which continues to accrue interest at the statutory rate. Should a debtor fail to make the required payments, his driver’s license and registrations are again suspended.
