Washington State Power Of Attorney

Q: Fast forward to today - a trial date has been set for next March, and no settlement has been reached. There is a scheduled mediation next month, but if nothing comes of it, the Washington attorney has told us to keep a full week open in March for trial - in Washington, of course. Question: Can we be compelled to attend this out of state trial and/or testify if it goes forth? If so, would expenses (primarily travel, lodging, loss of 1 week's pay for both of us) typically be covered by our insurance company, does it vary depending on the carrier, or are we likely on the hook for that?

A: He's your attorney, and you'd better take his advice if you don't want the insurer to disclaim coverage for you on grounds of your failure to cooperate. Darn tootin' you can. Not by the plaintiffs, who I'm sure would much prefer you do NOT show up so no one is there to contradict THEIR testimony about how the wreck happened, but by your OWN insurance co. who wants you there to present their side of the story. With the "or else" being, they won't pay the damages unless you cooperate with them. There's almost always a "cooperation clause" as a condition of coverage written into the language of your policy. The attorney representing you is hired and paid for by the insurance company, so in one sense _they_ are his client -- they're the ones who he wants to come back to him time and again with new cases -- but the insurer hired him to make sure _your_ interests are protected, as they are required to do by the language of the "defense clause" in your insurance policy, so as far as legal ethics goes, his primary duty is to _you_ if there is any conflict between your interests, and the insurer's. That's because it's the insurance company's money, not yours, that is at stake. But even so you can let him know what a burden it would be on you to attend a week-long out-of-state trial, and he would have to take that into consideration in making his settlement recommendations to the insurer (assuming they would even listen to him, as they often don't when DOLFing a MIST case -- the adjuster in DOLF cases gives the defense attorney no settlement authority at all and keeps that power to himself, i.e. the insurance company).

Washington State Power Of Attorney

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