Stephen King Sues Insurance Company

February 14, 2001 -- Stephen King has dreamed up a lot of frightening scenarios in his 30-plus years of writing horror novels, but what truly scares him is not appliances gone bad or vampires — it's insurance companies who refuse to pay.

King is suing his insurance company over a $10 million policy that was to cover medical bills and lost income stemming from a June 1999 accident, his lawyer said Tuesday.

King and his wife, Tabitha, claim that The Commercial Union York Insurance Co. has not coughed up the $10 million they believe they're owed from their coverage. The couple filed the lawsuit Thursday, hoping to force the company to make good on the policy.

In June 1999, the then-51-year-old King was walking on the shoulder of a two-lane highway near his home in northern Maine. A motorist approaching from behind lost control of his van when he was distracted by his pet Rottweiler, according to police.

King was struck by Bryan Smith's vehicle and thrown 14 feet. He suffered numerous pelvic, hip, and leg fractures. The author also had a collapsed lung and broken ribs.

Attorney Warren Silver said the $10 million insurance policy will not cover all of his client's losses from the accident. He estimated that medical bills, future surgeries, and lost writing income as a result of the accident would add up to between $65 million and $75 million.

"You can't write when you're totally incapacitated," Silver told Reuters. "Basically, he had five surgeries to rebuild his right side."

King, 53, faces more operations, Silver said. "He is still experiencing pain on a daily basis," Silver said. "It is the position of the King family that these policies should cover this injury and financial loss."

Smith, who was convicted of aggravated assault and driving to endanger in the King incident, was found dead at his home in a small town in Maine last September.

"What he took from me, my time, my peace of mind, and my ease of body, are simply gone and no court can bring them back," King said in January 2000. He later expressed sorrow at news of Smith's death.

Reuters contributed to this story.