No Police Report Makes Life Very Difficult for Dunnion Client

Our elderly client was on her way to a bible study class when a vehicle pulled from a stop sign into her path causing a horrible crash. The two occupants of the adverse car got out and ran away. Witnesses called the police and paramedics. The police arrived, looked around, and in spite of the presence of two totaled vehicles and two missing defendants, decided that Dunnion’s client was not injured and left without writing a police report! Our client was taken to the hospital with injuries so painful that she had to be induced into a coma for two weeks before being allowed to regain consciousness. The firm spent considerable energy trying to find insurance on the at-fault car. The carrier of record with the DMV denied having a policy on the car. The owner of record denied having been the driver and stated the driver was a Mexican national with no California address, ties, or insurance. Fortunately our client had a substantial policy of her own, which would cover her if the at-fault party was uninsured, but how could we show that if we did not even know who that was? Further–the client’s policy required a police report be made and there was no report and the police refused to make one! In the end, the client’s carrier listened to reason instead of insisting on the letter of the contract and paid the policy. It was a long haul for the Dunnion client, but she hung in there and so did we. It pays to have a large limit on your uninsured motorist coverage as you really may need it some day!