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Ever been sued over a car accident?

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3.6K views 16 replies 14 participants last post by  OrrieG  
#1 ·
I rear ended another car last year - my first accident. Pretty minor deal. Less than 10 MPH. I had a slight bumper dent and her plastic bumper pumped right back out, with only paint marks on it. The collission happened because she went to turn but decided to stop before totally exiting my lane. So I cought the corner of her car after jumping on my brakes.

Well, I went to the collision shop nearby (that day) and they took pictures to send to my insurance company to make it all "official". A few weeks pass and my insurance calls me saying that the driver of the other car is filing a claim for "chiropractic vivists amounting to $3,000" or something outrageous. Oh, this other driver works at a chiropractic place! ha! The insurance told me that from the pictures of the damage that there is NO WAY bodily harm could have been done, and that they would "fight it all the way if need be, and I should not worry about it"

Fast forward 1 year to today. I get a notice in the mail saying there is a law suit against me from the driver of the other car.

This ever happen to you?
Guess I'll spend my Thursday learning something else new.
 
#2 ·
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#8 ·
Phil Keller said:
"spinal subligation",
Click to expand...
"spinal subluxation", Mike from your description the charges do seem outrageous. Unfortunately it sounds like the insurance company and the system is being manipulated(no pun intended). Let the insurance companies deal with it. Pete
 
#6 ·
Well hell Phil. Way to ruin a good day! :D

My insurance "case worker" has a message in her in-box. It's USAA and they've been nothing but a pleasure to deal with. I just assumed the girly failed to get money from them, so is now coming directly after me. wonder if she filed the suit on her own, or if she has retaned a lawyer. 'eh, it'll work out for the better I hope.

Now I have to go read up on Jeff's post. :) Thanks man!
 
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#7 ·
Welcome to the lawsuit lotto. The crackup about this is that virtually all Chiropractors give free regular spinal adjustments to all their staff. So perhaps this lady gets free adjustments and then turns around and prints "bills" for the adjustments she is getting for free. Nice. If anyone were to dig further they would likely find that the chiropractor she works for has a real history of questionable soft tissue damage lawsuits (gotta pay the bills somehow). I actually really like chiropractors and the work they are capable of - but some of them...

I had a car accident lawsuit where the plaintiff was asking for a $25,000 settlement (right at the maximum dollar amount before more legal process is required). So I called the P.O.S. plaintiff's lawyer directly, and I got to talk with the lawyer's assistant - which surprised him greatly. I asked what was the meaning of this. He answered back that his client's truck was "totaled". So now let me explain that a very slow speed bump of way less than 10 mph occured on a freeway offramp - that resulted in his client's tailgate being dented. His truck also had no rear bumper. The truck was an older mini-truck of questionable value, it was very well used. So now a little incredulous I asked: "you want $25,000 for a dented tailgate?" He answered that the truck was hard to find parts for and that his client had been out of work because of the damaged truck, and that he felt a stiff neck. That is when I asked the lawyer if his client had been advised about fraudulent lawsuits - which was surprise two for the plaintiff's lawyer's office. He waffled a little bit when I asked him to make sure that the telephone recorder was turned on, then I repeated my question of whether the client had been advised about fraudulent lawsuits. Bottom line was that my insurance company settled for a little more than it cost for the tailgate. After his lawyer's fees he got less than what he would have gotten for a direct settlement of replacing the tailgate.

Thomas
 
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#11 ·
Bomber '67 said:
So perhaps this lady gets free adjustments and then turns around and prints "bills" for the adjustments she is getting for free. Nice.
Click to expand...
Sounds like fraud to me.

These kind of lawsuits make me sick. And with these lawsuits driving insurance and product liability costs so high, it's amazing we can afford to buy anything in this country! :sad:
 
#9 ·
This sounds like a suit for a relatively small dollar amount, probably for less than your insurance coverage limits. BUT if a major injury, death, or catastrophic property damage occurred you could be sued for way more than your coverage limits. It's a good idea to carry a $1,000,000 liability umbrella policy that extends your liability coverage limits by that amount. It costs less than you might think, less than $200 a year.
 
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#10 ·
I actually have a court date set for January.

Six weeks after buying my new Ranger, I had a 'bumper tag' incident.
(this is after one car was totaled by hit and run teen girls in a stolen car AND my wife was rearended on the freeway with the other car.)

Turning right onto a freeway access road, I STOPPED behind an individual driving a 2002 F-150. (YEILD sign)
He then decided to move onto the access road. As he pulled forward (and actually entered the right lane of the accesss road), I turned my head to check for oncoming traffic. This guy decided to STOP whilst I were looking for traffic.
The right front corner of my (Aluminum & plastic)Ranger hit his rear (steel) bumper just left of the outboard framerail. ( I could see no real damage)

I was in first gear at an idle when this happened (maybe 4mph), and did not even break a headlamp. (bumper/fender/headlightsupport)

While waiting for the traffic police to arrive, this man and his wife stood patiently at the rear corner of their truck, with no visible injuries whatsoever (both pretty large people).

They would not allow me to take a pic of the damage to their truck, nor would they give me their license or insurance card. Claime the cops would take car of it.

No tickets---

Almost one year later, I am hit with a lawsuit. He is claiming knee injuries & she is claiming debilitating back injuries.

Theya re attempting to get more than my insurance would cover at this point, as my insurance co. refused to settle for max limits on their so called 'injuries'.

I have been rear-ended 4 times, once being hit so hard that it knocked the 78 chev 4x4 nearly 40'.

I'm not saying one cannot get hurt in this situation, just that one (let alone 2) would get even remotely damaged at 5mph.

My wife has done more damage to the car backing into a tree than I did hitting that full size pick-up with my 'wishes it were a truck' mini truck.
 
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#13 ·
Mike:

Let the insurance handle it. I went through something like this about 6 years ago. My son pulled out at a stop light and caught a van in the side. Tore up my 95 truck pretty good but didn't hurt him. The other vehicle as damaged all down the side according to the information I got but the man (driver), his wife, and son appeared to be ok. About a year later, I get a letter from the insurance company with a copy of correspondence from the other driver's attorney notifying me they were sueing for $75,000 dollars. Long story short my maximum coverage was $40-$50K per accident and they finally settled for that. Was worried about my personal liability over the insurance max and promptly went to the insurance company and adjusted my limits of liability.

I erred initially by buying insurance coverage that was the state minimum. Final thought, don't sweat it, the insurance company will handle it. Just look out for increased premiums!

Durand
 
#15 ·
Crazy stuff.
My insurance company is now aware of what the other driver is trying to do. Basically, by suing me direct they stand the chance of me not getting that law suit notice because I have since moved to a new house. So they get to pull a fast one by publishing it in the news paper, which I don't read. So a statute of limitations would be put into affect whereby I would default on my chance to "rebutle"(?) and likely be guilty by lack of a defense.

But my insurance company is on top of it, and agrees with you all that there's some shady stuff going on.

Von, I may just up my coverage amount.
 
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#17 ·
Refer it back to your insurance company thats what you pay for. Almost 30 years I had a similar instance. I was pulling out of a drive way and could not stop in time to keep from hitting a car speeding. Totaled the Volvo, wrinkled the license plate on the 59 pickup. I got a ticket for failure to yield. Luckily I had my camera and a tape measure with me and took photos showing a truck blocking my view and the other cars skid marks. I went to court and proved the other car was speeding and got the ticket dismissed. (NO help from insurance company there). When I called the insurance co to let them know they said they could now go after the other parties passenger who had been submitting claims for shoulder and arm injuries . Turned out her doctor was the drivers father. Insurance co. eventually got fraud charges against the doc, his daughter and the passenger. At no time was I served with any papers or asked to testify.
 
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