HELP - Drunk Driver Drove into my rental
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.