Fenderbender, possible bogus litigation. What should I do?

Factual Questions
1

I got into a fenderbender this morning while on the way to class. My fault; the car in front of the car in front of me stopped to let someone cross the street, I didn’t realize this was happening until it was too late. I hit the brakes, and hit the vehicle in front of me.

Anyway, after a moment to recover from the shock, I walk up to talk to the driver of the other car, and ask her if she’s alright (as well as apologise). She’s scowling, muttering that things like this always happen to her. Hey, I don’t expect someone I just hit to be jovial or anything. Anyway, I go back to my car, and wait for the police.

Police show up, I tell them what happened, give them my license/insurance/registration, and wait in the vehicle. The police ask if I’m ok and all, and I tell them that I’m fine. A few minutes later, an ambulence pulls up and some EMTs jump out. Next, I see the back open up and stretchers being brought out. The police officer comes back, and I ask him what’s up with the ambulance. He tells me that both the driver and passenger are complaining of “neck pains”.

At this point, I’m thinking that this is a bit shady. The speed of my car was between 5-10 miles an hour at impact, and damage to both cars is minor. As well, the driver and passenger said they were OK when I talked to them after the accident.

Anyway, the whole situation looks to me like the other driver (and passenger) are preparing for some sort of lawsuit. Hence, my question: anticipating a bit of barratry, what should I be doing to protect myself? A police report has been filled out, and I contacted my insurer to let them know that the accident had occurred. If a suit is filed, would the passenger in their vehicle be able to act as a witness against me, despite they themselves being a plaintiff?

Any advice anyone has is greatly appreciated.

2

You called the police, which is the best thing you could have done. No question. Now you have to wait for your insurance to handle it.

3

The answer to your question is yes.
Were you ticketed? Depending on your state, your plea and the results of those proceedings might be used against you in the civil case. You should discuss this issue further, ideally with a lawyer licensed in your state, but at least with your insurance company. However, assuming adequate insurance, someone in this situation is most likely only risking his deductible and future insurance rates. (For me adequate insurance means at least 300k/claim and 500k/occurence.)

This is general information and not meant to be specific legal advice. While IAAL, I may not be licensed in your state. You’re not my client and I’m not your attorney. See an atty licensed in your state for reliable legal advice.

4

No, I wasn’t ticketed FWIW. RE: legal advice, I know the drill. For the record, I’m not soliciting legal advice from anyone; I’m just trying to figure out how much trouble I’m in for from these people.

5

IANA cop, but I’ve heard this in a few places… YMMV, etc etc…

You might get a ticket in the mail in a few days. This is not uncommon from what I have heard.

Also, take some pictures of the damage to both of the cars. It may come in handy later on.

6

Since you’ve contacted your insurer, there’s really nothing more to do at the moment. If you have valid insurance, you personally should not be in any trouble–it sounds unlikely that the damages could be above even the minimum policy limits. It’s your insurance carrier’s job to make the other party whole and defend any legal claims that may arise.

You may want to stop admitting fault (did you do this at the scene?) and just state that facts of the accident. You may want to make notes about the facts and your recollections of the accident while it’s fresh in your mind.

7

My bet is the other parties are faking it. Whiplash injuries typically become manifestseveral hours after, if nothe the DAY after an accident. Also, the soreness is to the FRONT of the neck (because the head is rolled back over the top of the seat, stretching the cables along the throat).

You’ll probably not get sued. Your victims will be directed to file their claim with your insurance company to collect any bodily injury damages. You do not pay a deductible for their damages. Your insurance company works directly with them (or their attorney if they’re REALLY stupid) and determines the REAL costs of their injuries such as medical bills, neck braces, surgury and, hopefully, amputations; as well as any pain & suffering owed to them.

Before your insurance company gives them a dime they’ll want to look at both cars. The adjuster will evaluate the whole claim (in this case the ticket will only be a hassle to you, we all know you are at fault so nobody really cares about the ticket) to include speed of impact, amount of damage to both cars and the magnitude of injuries claimed. If you have a hard-ass adjuster, he may tell your victims to get tied, they ain’t getting no stinking boo hoo money aside from their ambulance ride and ER visit. If they disagree and pursue the claim, it will again fall on your insurance company to deal with them.

What you CAN do is make yourself available to your insurance company if they need to take a recorded statement, and let them know ASAP that you think something fishy might be going down.

>>Insert general disclaimer here<<

8

I’m not sure that’s always true. I got fenderbent a few years ago, hit from behind by a young, inexperienced, slightly inattentive driver in stop-and-go traffic. I had no interest in suing or even making her pay for my damage (the car was worthless anyway and not insured for cosmetic damage). But I did get a very mild case of whiplash that hurt across the back of my neck. It hurt slightly right away, and I started to notice it throbbing about half an hour later. The front hurt a little bit too, but the worst of it was along the back. It was completely gone in a week and never interfered with my movement or anything.

9

emilyforce,
Hence my use of the weasel word “Typically.” :slight_smile:

I still think they’re faking it.

10

Standard disclaimer: I’m not giving you legal advice. I don’t know where you are, and I may not be licensed in your jurisdiction. I’m not your lawyer, you’re not my client.

Disclaimer about the standard disclaimer: I know you know all that already, but I have to say it every time.

Now on to your problem. I have only two pieces of advice (with a corrolary to one of them).

  1. write down everything you can remember RIGHT NOW. Take pictures of everything, including your car.

  2. let your insurance company handle this. You are paying them to deal with exactly this kind of situation. Keep conversation with the other driver to a minimum. If they call you, tell them that your insurance company is handling this and give them the number to reach whoever at the insurance company is handling this matter. Be polite at all times.

A corrollary to #2. Try to keep yourself detached from this situation. There are jerks in the world who see a trumped up lawsuit as an easy way to make some bucks. Worry about the philosophical issues later. Don’t get wrapped up in them now. Don’t try to assess whether these people are the afforementioned jerks. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. I don’t know and you don’t know either. Let your insurance company handle it. That’s what you are paying them for.