HELP - Drunk Driver Drove into my rental

[Liam Goble]

Hey guys.  I apologize that I've been MIA for most of the summer.  It's been a crazy summer for me.  Between changing careers, completing my first flip, family issues...it's been a busy summer.  

Here's my situation:  A (suspected) drunk driver drove into my all masonry building.  This occurred Friday night.  The driver hit one of the load bearing corners of the house.  Due to the damage, the entire house had to be evacuated (duplex - two families displaced).  Because of the concern regarding the structural integrity of the house, the house immediately adjacent to mine is also condemned (duplex - two families).  A total of four families have been affected and the damage is pretty extensive.  

I am meeting w/ my attorney next Tuesday.  Insurance is on this already (got them out of bed at 3am on Sat. Morn).  The driver isn't toast, but he's hurting: two broken legs, broken back and in a medically induced coma.  

A few questions: Has this happened to anyone?  What additional steps did you take?  For better or worse, the driver was driving a commercial vehicle...yes, after hours, but obviously the company trusted him to be driving the vehicle.  The guy does have a past, generally on the wrong side of the law: at least one felony conviction.  This specific building gets messier and messier: It's in a flood zone so any improvements will have to make the whole building match the new flood code (building's worth about $50k; repairs will be at least $50k); the building is in a historic district; when SAR shored the building, they put the shoring on the foundation of the adjacent building...meaning the structural integrity of the adjacent building may be in question; the first engineering company didn't want to take on this project due to liability issues...the list goes on.

It's a total PITA.  Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions.

[Mark Doyle]

@Liam Goble Ok Liam, this is coming from the perspective of an Illinois attorney.  Not sure on all of Pennsylvania's laws, so don't take this as "legal advice".  You will need to talk to a Pennsylvania attorney to be sure.  But here are my thoughts.  First of all, the drunk driver who drove into your building is not going to sue you.  There are no grounds (based on the facts I have read).  Plaintiff's attorneys work on a contingency basis and would never take a case like that.  They will take crappy cases hoping for a settlement, but never something where there is not even an argument.  

So the question is, what do you do?  First, I would go to your insurance company and see if they will pay for ALL of your damages.  As has been suggested, you need to calculate all of your damages from this, and think long and hard about what those will be.  Make your claim with your insurance company.  Give them all supporting documentation.  If they will reimburse you for everything, minus a deductible, take it and they will subrogate (sue in your place) against the driver to get their money, and your deductible, back.  That way you don't have to go hiring an attorney and pay attorney fees.  

If you cannot get a satisfactory recovery from your insurance company, then you should go get your own attorney to go after the driver for his insurance proceeds.  The problem with this is an attorney is going to take a chunk of your recovery (33% in most cases but try to negotiate down to 25%).  In Illinois, attorney fees are not recoverable for negligence cases.  And since property damages are a fixed number, unlike injury damages where you can recover for pain and suffering, paying attorney fees means money is coming directly out of your pocket.

Having said that, if this guy really was drunk, depending on Pennsylvania law, you may be able to seek punitive damages.  In that case, you can recover more than your property damages, and possibly make up for the attorney fees.  

So, to summarize, try to get a full recovery from your insurer first and let them deal with litigation.  If you cannot, then hire an attorney that will work on a contingent basis and ask him/her about the possibility of recovering punitive damages since the driver was drunk.