Legal Questions... I'm getting sued?

CanadaRAM said:
Reread the original post. The plaintiff stopped and Sam rear-ended her.
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oops, you are right. This is what happens when just skim through post. :D

Keep us posted on further development of this case. And good luck.
 
They won't win $2M b/c this will never go to trial. They want your insurance co to settle and give them a big check, which will happen. You shouldn't worry about it, it's why you have insurance.
 
I find it absurd that the husband can sue for claiming his wife can no longer be the same person/role in their relationship.

What's next, being sued by everyone in her immediate family, her employer, church, etc because she supposedly isn't able to do her role the same, somehow costing them money?
 
Josh said:
I find it absurd that the husband can sue for claiming his wife can no longer be the same person/role in their relationship.

What's next, being sued by everyone in her immediate family, her employer, church, etc because she supposedly isn't able to do her role the same, somehow costing them money?
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There is something called "loss of consortium." It's legit and has been around for quite some time. Sounds like what he's going for.
 
Josh said:
I find it absurd that the husband can sue for claiming his wife can no longer be the same person/role in their relationship.

What's next, being sued by everyone in her immediate family, her employer, church, etc because she supposedly isn't able to do her role the same, somehow costing them money?
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Yeah, its BS. He probably wants compensation for the hooker he had to hire because his wife wasn't able to do him :rolleyes:
 
I'm very surprised that no one has brought up the fact that the original accident occurred in 2003 and only now are these folks filing suit. I think it's BS that people wait SO long to file lawsuits. It's double-BS that they sue for some godawful large sum of money in the hopes of getting you to cough up a settlement.

But yeah, it's time to lawyer up and get your insurance company involved.
 
CanadaRAM said:
Now in Canada, the court has the ability to assess costs -- that is, if Bill the Bilker sues me for unjustifiable reasons, the judge can throw out the case AND order Bill to pay for my lawyer and all my costs. All of a sudden, it is much riskier for Bill to roll the dice and try for a big payoff, because if he loses, he gets hit for a judgement of $thousands in costs.
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Same thing can happen in the US. Only thing is you have to sue the original plaintiff for legal/court costs if the case was originally thrown out.

I can't believe some people's sole source of income is from frivolous lawsuits.
 
Good luck - this sounds like a stressful and unpleasant way to spend the weekend. I think it's wise to see what your insurance company can offer. Like others have said, this is exactly why we have to have insurance.

Hope you can relax and get away from it this evening.
 
skubish said:
I can't believe some people's sole source of income is from frivolous lawsuits.
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Hey man, it's not frivolous when someone gets a mouth full of hot coffee. Or when a fat person is trying to survive in a world full of cheeseburgers and donuts. These are serious problems, people.
 
SamIchi said:
I got a summons today in tha mail for a car accident I had back in October of 2003. I didn't stop in time and hit the car in front of me, and then I was also hit from behind. Which totalled my car. The vehicle I hit was a van and had very little damage (from what I remember). My car was totalled being crushed in between.

Anyways, I guess the lady that I hit is sueing me (and the person behind me) for $1,000,000. It says she suffered "serious injury", and has sustained a great economic loss as defined in the NYS Insurance law. These injuries are or anticipated to be permanent nature, which will hurt her daily life and such. The husband of the plaintiff, also says that he has been "denied the society, companionship, service & relationship with his wife" because of my accident. He's sueing for $200,000.

I mean, I would really feel bad if I did cause her any serious injuries, but I remember her to be the first one gettin' out of her vehicle, and asking if I was OK. There was also a child with her, and there is no mention of him in the summons. What kind of injury could she of had had? And why am I gettin this almost a year and a half later (does it take that long to process?) The date recieved is March 27th 2006, so I think it was just filed.

I have never been in any legal situations like this. What do you guys think, and Any information would be helpful thanks.
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As most other people have said 1. Notify your insurance co. ASAP!

2. Call an attorney.. .

3. the guy that hit you was tailgating if he hit you, and shouldent have a case at all if im not mistaken... If he was a telephone pole length behind you he should have been able to stop before hitting you... (im not a lawyer, i just play one on tV)
 
42gb said:
They won't win $2M b/c this will never go to trial. They want your insurance co to settle and give them a big check, which will happen. You shouldn't worry about it, it's why you have insurance.
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yes but he should be concerned a bit... if they lose/settle the case his premiums will skyrocket... :mad:
 
The person that hit you from behind should get nothing. I don't know about New York laws, but in Texas if someone hits you from behind it is always their fault. As for the person who is suing for 1mil because you hit them, I think that is very much overboard. Hopefully you insurance company will be able to settle with them for some smaller amount, but I bet your rates will shoot up.

Good luck! Some people are just out fishing for money.

this post should be deleted mods.
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I thought it was a good suggestion....
 
SamIchi said:
I have never been in any legal situations like this. What do you guys think, and Any information would be helpful thanks.
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The only good advice you'll get here is to stop asking for legal advice on a mac website and go hire a lawyer.

If you're not even sure where to start, at least ask somebody who has legal training.
 
Should be noted that many people are under insured in these days of greedy plaintiffs and legal system. Here is a link to the minimums that each state requires: http://info.insure.com/auto/minimum.html

Unfortunately, many people have just this basic coverage. In Sams case it sounds like he and his parents may have added an umbrella policy to cover for situations like this, hence the $1m suit.
 
most insurance policies have a limitation on when you can file a claim (usually within 1 yr from the time of the incident). I'm thinking your period to file may have lapsed already. But not to worry, if the plaintiff really was hurt in the accident, why did she have to wait for 3 yrs before filing a claim against you? The 3 yr wait is considered as laches and taken against her. The logic there is that if she were really hurt/aggrieved as she claims, she would have filed suit right away AND NOT wait 3 yrs.
 
baby duck monge said:
There is something called "loss of consortium." It's legit and has been around for quite some time. Sounds like what he's going for.
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The question is whether or not these people realize they were "entitled" to it before going to the lawyer. I'm gonna bet they weren't.
 
I wanted to add that I was in an accident a few years ago. A simple bumper kiss, really. Just two dimples left by my tag screws. Imagine my surprise when a Rescue wagon arrived. The woman I kissed bumpers with was still in her car, and the crew asked me where the "other" car was - for they were told there was bodily injury. I responded that it was only the two of us, they shook their heads; and went to look after that woman. They ended up extracting her on a board with her in a neck brace.

The police arrived next. The officer also asked where the "other" car was. When I told him it was just the two of us, he sighed heavily. In taking the report, I asked him about what ticket I would receive. He said that he didn't have the heart to give me a ticket for what he saw as my hassles with my insurance company over the actions of the woman in the car I "hit".

Maybe it was the concern (or panic) in my voice in talking with the insurance company; but I was told much more than I would have ever expected. It seems that this woman has had at least three other "claims" in the previous 5 years! In the end they settled for $2,500. Too bad at the time Fairfax County did not charge for ambulance rides. Ticks me off that she was able to make a profit off a simple bump of the bumpers.

My insurance agent had been pressing me for years to get a $1M umbrella policy. After the above brush with a greedy individual, I decided that it might be worth the cost.

With the link I provided to minimums that each state requires, one can see that in a serious accident - those minimums could be exceeded easily.

I really feel for Sam. In my teens I was in an accident in which I was sued for $250K US, which worth about $1M in todays dollars. The insurance company provided an attorney. Luckily the day before the trail, the case was settled for $12,000. Today, I would pony up to have my own attorney to help in the case.
 
savar said:
The only good advice you'll get here is to stop asking for legal advice on a mac website and go hire a lawyer.

If you're not even sure where to start, at least ask somebody who has legal training.
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probably the best advice in this thread.
 
I had some like this a few years ago where I was sued for an auto accedent I caused. Told the insureance company and let them handle it. They told me they would take care of it. They used there lawyers and legal fees and I didnt pay anything in dealing with the mess. End result she got some settle ment that was for about the max my insurance would cover.
Funny part is she had the exact same agent I did and then shortly after wards State farm dropped the family for the next minor infraction (plus there son was a bad driver and did do quite a bit of stuff) The agent was not willing to go to bat for them and try to keep them covered.

More than likely was not the brightest idea of her to sue her own agent (who happen to be mind as well). Proulbe made him pretty mad. Suck though and mostly just a role pain.

Top it off there where conflicting reports filed. She claimed she was at a completley stop and I ramed her when backing out of my drive way. Relatity of it was I back out of my drive way and took the hit at the speed limit. The skid markets prove that much..... Stupid lady.
 
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