For Better and For Worse

Sometimes, I scream like a little girl. I do this most frequently while riding in the passenger seat of my wife's car. When she's driving. There have been occasions when I am sitting in the passenger seat, white-knuckled and grasping the OSH ("Oh, shoot!" handle) while emitting a high-pitch scream that would make Dakota Fanning jealous. Most of these occasions involve us traveling through an intersection while the light is red for our direction of travel. Other occasions involve when my beautiful, patient, and forgiving wife gets frustrated in a parking lot and flies down the lane at 100 m.p.h. (Clearly exaggerating here, of course. Note the emphasis on forgiving, honey!). So, if you've ever heard a faint screaming similar to what you hear next to a roller coaster at the amusement park, we were likely somewhere nearby. It's a small world, after all.

It has come to my attention I may not be the only person who is sometimes afraid of their spouse's driving habits. Occasionally, individuals will ask, "Can I sue my spouse for an auto accident?" The answer is yes. North Carolina law allows a husband and wife to maintain claims against each other as if they were two unmarried individuals. So, if you are injured riding in your wife's car when she causes an accident, you can sue her to recover for your harms and losses just as you could any other individual. Items that you can recover for include (but may not be limited to) medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Of course, these cases present unique issues from a litigation perspective. If the claim does not settle with the insurance company out of court, then litigation may be the only option in an attempt to recover. Then, among a variety of other issues, it will be your job and your lawyer's job to try to explain to a jury why you are suing your spouse. With the prohibition against mentioning insurance at trial in North Carolina, this could require considerable flexing of your creative muscles in certain circumstances.

Many people might ask, "Why would you want to sue your spouse for an auto accident?" Well, assume that the husband and wife do not have any health insurance. Also assume that there is no medical payments coverage on the auto policy. In situations like these, the couple could be faced with paying medical bills totaling $5,000.00 or more depending on the severity of the auto accident and injuries that the individual sustained. For most American families, this is a sizable chunk of change. In my experience, this couple likely will find that nobody is Neighborly, nobody is On Their Side, and they are not In Good Hands. The couple may want to file a claim under their auto insurance policy in an attempt to help alleviate the financial burden those bills place on the household. This ultimately may lead to litigation.

Married couples take a vow to stand by each other "for better or for worse." Hopefully, the years of marriage are happy ones and there are more "better" times than "worse" times. However, if you should find that an auto accident has caused one of those darker times in your marriage, then consider consulting with an experienced attorney.

Disclaimer: The views of the author are his own. This article is not intended to convey any specific legal advice upon any specific individual. The author is happily married. He hopes to remain that way. The author has considered adding this blog to the "Restricted Sites" on his wife's Internet browser, but then realized that would bring his readership down to 2 (mom & boss being the 2). The author is currently shopping online to mitigate this posting with his wife. The author loves his wife. The author's wife is the coolest, most patient, most intelligent, most forgiving, most beautiful, most awesome, etc., etc., etc. person that he has ever known and arguably that has ever existed on this planet in the history of the universe. For the record, the author's wife has never been in an at-fault accident. Her driving record is better than the author's. The author refuses to elaborate on his driving record and asserts his Fifth Amendment privilege.