I have a friend that was in a car accident about a year ago, in which a fellow ran into the back of her car as she was stopping to make a left turn, and this fellow was apparently injured enough to miss a good deal of work, and he has filed a law suit against her for $25000 due to the time he missed at work, ect. She does not know very much about law, and neither do I, but I was wondering, if she were to lose, would she have to personally pay the $25000, or would her insurance cover a lot of it? It seems to be a ridiculous case, as the guy ran into her, but it’s going to trial very soon none the less. I was hoping that you could help out with any information. thanks.
standard disclaimer: IANAL; next, without knowing more of the facts of the case I couldn’t even, or want to, venture a guess.
I have a question for you…does she have a lawyer? has she contacted her insurance company? If she has then her lawyer should be keeping her up to speed on the developments and take the time to explain everything to her…If the attorney hasn’t, then I would definatly demand to know if I were in her shoes.
If she doesn’t have a lawyer, or contacted her Insurance then she needs to pronto.
Get a lawyer. Seems like a fishing expedition to see if she will pay to make the case go away. Get a lawyer. Unless there are truly extenuating circumstances (ie she jammed to a dead stop from a fairly high rate of speed and did not signal etc. etc.) the person who rear ends someone else stands a poor chance of prevailing in most situations as it is assumed they were following too closely or not paying attention. Get a lawyer.
IAAL
Does she have insurance coverage? If so, has she notified her insurance company? If so, have they hired a lawyer for her yet? Can’t answer the question without these facts.
Depends on the state, but in Texas he would have virtually no chance of getting any money from her, since he hit her from behind - it would automatically be his fault.
Sounds like a totally frivolous lawsuit – unless she was DUI, driving without a license or had no insurance, the guy who rear-ends you is almost always judged to be at fault.
My advice is, get a lawyer…and COUNTERSUE!
Insurance has nothing to do with lawsuits. If she loses, she owes him the money. Whether or not the insurance company reimburses her (or pays him directly) is a matter of contract between her and the Company).
As for the claim, itself, it sound frivolous. I’d get a lawyer and counter-sue. Anyone who attempt to defend themself against a $25k lawsuit, is temping fate.
Yes, but. (Insert standard IANAL disclaimer) Quite often insurance covers injuries as a result of an accident, which means that her insurance company may be obligated to pick up the tab for any damages. As such, they’d be reeeeeally interested in making sure there are no damages: i.e., helping her defend against this (probably frivolous) lawsuit. Torkle, make sure your friend contacts her insurance company right now.
I would think that if she didn’t contact her insurer to allow them conduct of the case the insurance company would be off the hook.
My usual law answer when there isn’t enough information is to contact your local bar assn, ask them for a referral & pay $25 for a half hour consultation.
If she has insurance, the insurance should be defending her right now. Generally, all auto insurance policies give the insurer two duties–a duty to defend (i.e. provide legal counsel) and a duty to indemnify (i.e. pay damages). As long as she was merely negligent (as opposed to intentionally causing an injury), the insurer would be on the hook for damages under its policy. That’s why people buy liability insurance: to protect them against negligence judgments.
The fact she was rear-ended is not an instant out but it is persuasive. A jury is less likely to find for a plaintiff who rear-ended someone else.
Don’t get too hung up on that $25,000 figure either. Sounds like the lawyer who filed the case knows it isn’t terribly strong as $25,000 is not that high an opening position. It’s what he’s demanding; not what he expects to get.
Your friend can try countersuing, but there’s not much too countersue for. Frankly, it sounds like a waste of time. While average folks are often eager to label a lawsuit “frivolous”, the courts are much more reluctant. Even if she proved the suit was frivolous, what are her damages? If her insurance is paying for a lawyer, the insurance company is the only one likely to benefit from a countersuit.
< Insurance Claim Rep Hat On>
Insurance companies normally hire investigators and attorneys to defend their policyholders. The one major exception is when the insurance company doesn’t believe it has a chance to prevail, and will pay the limits of the policy and bow out.
For example, if you only had $10,000 in coverage, the insurance company could pay the $10,000 to the injured party and leave you hanging. Plus the determination on whether to pay or not is up to the insurance company: you basically have no voice in the matter. The insurance company is only on the hook for the amount of coverage. After that, you are basically on your own.
I can’t imagine the insurance company being out of the loop on this accident. Of course the insurance company can’t help if your friend did not report the accident to them. They can also deny coverage and deny to help if your friend defrauded the insurance company in some manner (although that is usually rare – because insurance companies do a lot more to screen those they insure).
From your brief description, I don’t think “the fellow” has a chance of prevailing. In fact I wonder why his lawyer is spending time and effort in the suit. I can’t see a lawyer taking this guy’s side with an expectation of a cut of the settlement (cause there likely won’t be one). It could be the lawyer is on retainer or being paid directly by “the fellow”, it which it is basically his money down the drain.
</Insurance Claim Rep Hat Off>
IMHO… unless your friend has damages (injury, bills insurance didn’t cover, or lost work), a counter suit would be frivolous.
Still haven’t heard from the OP. I interpreted the question not as a moral one (“This looks like a BS case”) but a practical one (“What happens if in fact the guy wins, will my friend personally have to pay any $”). Last call for more information. The last couple of posts are on the right track but there are more things than can be done to protect the insured from their carrier (yes, you read that right), if you know the full coverage/notice situation.