Being Summoned to Small Claims Court for Accident, Not At Fault...

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ll try to keep this short while providing the most relevant information. I live in Los Angeles, CA. February in 2015, I was involved in a car accident in which I was making a left turn at a green arrow from Hawthorne Blvd. onto Del Amo Blvd. About 30 feet down on Del Amo Blvd is a fast food driveway. My arrow turns green so I proceed onto Del Amo Blvd and out from the driveway a car pulls into my lane, I slam the brakes and skid into him.
We pull over, I get out and he immediately starts ranting and raving, “WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP?!” I try to explain that I had the right of way, but I can’t even get a word in so I raise my voice telling him “NO, I’M WAITING FOR THE POLICE.” I get back in my car and close the door. Shortly after, the police arrive. They ask if anyone needs medical attention, we both refuse.
One is taking my statement and one is taking the other man’s, and I can overhear him still shouting about me stopping. I then hear the officer speaking to him ask “Where is there a stop sign? Where is there something indicating that he should yield here for you to go?” It takes everything in me not to say “I TOLD YOU SO”, I just finish giving my statement. Once the officers write the report, basically telling him he’s at fault, he starts having some health (breathing I think) “problems” and requests an ambulance be called.
The summary in the police report reads “P1 turned out of a private driveway onto Del Amo Blvd in front of P2 (me) who was W/B Del Amo Blvd from Hawthorne Blvd in the #1 lane. P1 Violated 21804(a) cvc.”
Nothing happened from there, I didn’t pursue any action because there was prior damage to the front end (I really couldn’t see much of a difference) of my car, and my car was having issues with the engine anyway and soon found out the work was going to be too expensive so ended up having to scrap it.

FAST FORWARD… May 09 of this year, I get served to show up in court on 06/12 in this ridiculous claim that I owe the guy $7500. The reason given in the paperwork served is
“Defendant from N/B Hawthorne Blvd., turned left onto Del Amo Blvd. and struck Plaintiff who, from a driveway, was stopped at Del Amo Blvd. to clear traffic. Defendant failed to observe traffic condition and therefore, negligent.”
The amount is mostly calculated by the cost of ambulance and medical services… then $1067.75 for pains and sufferings.

Now I have to go to court for something so ridiculous. Just wanted to get some feedback, it would much be appreciated. Anyone think this guy has a chance or that I am at all in the wrong here? I just think it’s absurd, but he hired a lawyer who pulled all of this stuff together for him (one would think a lawyer would be like, “guy you’re an idiot and have no case”). Any advice would be great! Thank you.
PS I took a picture of the intersection, but just realized they don’t allow posts with attachments here

2

Take your police report with the police findings with you showing the other person in violation.

I am no lawyer, but i would think that would put a big damper on things for the guy.

PS i thought small claims had no lawyers?

3

Firstly, my entire knowledge of small claims procedure comes from years of watching The People’s Court, so just remember I may be talking out my bottom here.

  1. In most cases the insurance companies involved should already have determined fault and settled the matter. There’s a liability clause for just these sorts of issues. Is your insurance company aware of the court action? If not, CONTACT THEM IMMEDIATELY.

  2. As you correctly surmised, the other party’s case hinges in part on whether you are considered at fault or not for the accident. According to your post, you seem to have strong evidence (a police report) that the accident was not your fault. If this gets to court, present the police report to the judge.

  3. If this makes it to court, and when called upon to explain your side of the matter, just give the judge the facts as you know them. Don’t go off in the weeds about what a jerk the other guy is or how unfair this whole thing is. Don’t directly engage the other guy in any way. If he says anything that you know not to be true, however, make sure to communicate to the judge that you dispute that element of the other guy’s story, and why. The judge will sort it all out; that’s what he or she does: you know, judge things.

Good luck, and please come back to say how things went.

4

Does ‘#1’ line mean the left lane? If so, he can’t even claim that you didn’t turn left on to the closest lane.

5

Get your insurer involved PRONTO.

Police report is of limited use - may be inadmissible, as they were not witnesses.

There is the element that - despite the fact that you had the right-of-way, you struck him and could be viewed as having the last chance to avoid the accident. Not sure where your state sits in terms of contributory negligence/comparative fault.

Sorry for your situation. No matter what a jerk the other guy was/is, and no matter how much we might agree that he was entirely at fault, there are no guarantees in court.

6

This is very good advice. When testifying, be polite “yes, your honour”. Be calm, only state the facts of what happened with no added emotion. Don’t talk over the other guy and wait till it’s your turn. I had to testify once and, after, was told by one of the lawyers “I wish you could testify in all of my cases”.

Practice relaxation techniques before court day. How to relax your shoulders and neck and some breathing techniques.

7

A police report is classic hearsay - an out-of-court statement (or set of statements) offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Whether or not the hearsay exclusion applies in small claims actions depends on state law.

Same goes for attorney representation.

8

Show up in court. If you don’t show up you will have a summary judgement against you and you will be on the hook for at least the damages he is asking. He’s probably counting on you NOT to show up.

I would also strongly suggest consulting a lawyer. This is not the same as retaining a lawyer. Find a lawyer with experience/knowledge in small claims in your state/jurisdiction and ask him about your rights, responsibilities, and advise you on actions. It will be well worth spending a couple hundred to avoid a bill in the thousands, not to mention a judgement against you.

It varies by state. Some states no, some yes.

9

Same here , I took a landlord to small claims count and was either one of had a lawyer . What about the OP insurance company would they have any paper works to help the OP out ? ( I won my case .)

10

The arrow turning green doesn’t mean you can proceed regardless. It means that you can proceed if it is safe to do so. You would not have proceeded had there been a child in the road, would you?

That aside, contact your insurers, give them COPIES of your dashcam footage and the police report, and lawyer up as required.

11

You should reread the first paragraph of the OP more carefully.

12

Make sure you contact the insurer you had coverage with in February 2015, if it’s not the same one you have now!

They’ll presumably hire an attorney to help the OP out. I’m not sure what “paperwork” they’d have that would be helpful since it appears that no claim was ever filed.

13

I hope this will work out in the OP favor . I hope the OP has help from a lawyer b/c I hate seeing innocent people getting screwed over .

14

If the OP didn’t report the accident to his insurance company he may be out of luck. Although it varies somewhat, each policy will lay out the reporting timeframes. If not reported in a timely manner as outlined by the policy, the insurance company may not have to cover anything. 2.25 years later is generally well outside initial reporting deadlines and may be why the plaintiff waited so long to file suit - knowing the OP’s insco would not likely help him out…

15

Yeah I don’t think they will want to get involved in a non reported case 2 years down the line. You’re probably on your own here. I think the police report will carry some weight even though it is hearsay.

You may want to read your policy carefully. You may be in violation of the terms of your insurance carrier with the unreported accident and there is possibility of their booting you if they get tangled up in this claim.

16

Thanks for your replies. First I’d like to address that there are not going to be any lawyers present but I do know that he hired one (I left it out in my haste and wanted to get to the point) because I received something from him 6 or so months ago pretty much asking me for 100,000+ dollars. I did not do anything with this because there was nothing that legally bound me to do so. It wasn’t a lawsuit, it was paperwork thrown together telling me that this is what I owe him and why. Which was laughable more than anything.
@El_Kabong, yesss I love Judge Millian and really wish she could preside over this because she is no nonsense. I have learned a lot from that show actually that can help me, as far as interrupting/speaking when called upon, demeanor, attitude, respect, don’t back talk or communicate directly with the plaintiff etc. And of course “your honor”.

Another thing I left out was that this particular vehicle was not covered at the time of the accident. I know that this may be a game changer and is completely idiotic on my part. My insurance had lapsed, and as I mentioned I was having problems with the car and was not sure exactly how much money I was going to have to put into it to have it fixed. I didn’t want to get tied into paying for insurance on a car that wasn’t worth salvaging. I was actually on my way to the mechanic to find this out when the car accident occurred.

I have consulted with a lawyer through who is good friends with my boyfriend, and he suggested first and foremost to find out when the claim was first filed. There is a 2 year limit of statutations on filing for personal injury. Which brings me to @Dcotor_Jackson reply… The accident happened February 19 2015, and after some research I found that he had filed on February 08 2017. So it didn’t have anything to do with insurance, it was more like his last chance to get me. Why wait so long?

And then @Quartz, thanks for the clarification, however I think you misread my original post. My arrow turned green, I look at the oncoming traffic and the crosswalk and proceed. Of course if there is a car or person in the intersection or
crosswalk, I’m going to be cautious. I make the left turn and I’m already in the left lane (which yes, is lane#1 @folly). On my right side about 30 feet ahead is a driveway. The car that pulled out in front of me wasn’t already pulled out when I pulled onto the street. I was already on the street probably about 15 feet down when he pulled out, I assumed he was pulling into the right lane, lane 2 and slowed a bit but when he came all the way out it was too late. I slammed on my breaks and skid into him.

Lastly, I think this guy is just a big scammer… Like the police asked straight away upon arrival if anyone needed medical attention. It wasn’t until they started putting the blame on him that he wanted an ambulance.

Thanks again for all your replies… I didn’t think I would get so many. I’m new to this, I just googled “Small claims message board” and saw some previous postings on this site. I will definitely update the day of or after, til then I will just have to kind of go over how I present myself and my side. Much appreciation!

17

Isn’t $7,500 over the limit for small claims court?

18

The small claims limit in California is $10,000.

19

Waiting until close to the statute of limitations is standard practice for many personal injury attorneys. You can’t get what you don’t claim in your complaint, and the longer you wait the more medical bills, lost earnings, and so forth there are to claim. You can claim future medical expenses and earnings but they are more speculative and harder to sell to the jury.

20

You ask for advice and then wait until everyone has replied and then throw in a huge chunk of critical information that significantly changes the context of the situation? Seriously?