Should we sue the other driver???

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

Yikes - sounds like time to file a Rule 11 motion for sanctions - it’s bad enough this is their policy, but to actually admit it to you!

I hope you meant this as a joke. Even then it is rather insulting. Sure there are ambulance chasers, but most lawyers are honest and upright, and part of the reason they became lawyers is to help people.

As for being “fortunate” enough to be physically injured and emotionally traumatized, then given some money, which can never undo the damage, I would hardly consider this an “award.” Our country’s judicial system is far from perfect, but at least it strives in some small way to hold people accountable for their negligence (I for one believe that just because it’s an “accident” doesn’t mean the person isn’t responsible!) and compensate victims.

22

Aerynsun, no joke. You found my remarks insulting to whom? In my experience, most lawyers are trying to make a living. Sure, who wouldn’t like to help people if possible, but ya gotta pay those bills.

PI creed - If something unfortunate happens to me, somebody’s gonna pay, and it sure as hell ain’t gonna be me.

Glad your experience with the legal system is so lovely.

23

If your family suffered physical harm, you might win a lawsuit. You will need documents to prove it, all of it, soft tissue injury, what ever.

If you lose wages because you couldn’t work, you might be able to recover that.

You also have a duty to minimize your losses. A judge will not let you collect money if you could have done something to lessen your injuries, such as going to a physician and being examined and treated for any wounds.

The person who harmed you, accident or not, is obligated to make you whole again.

Whether the woman was paying attention or not, the issue is did you suffer harm that can be proven.

Consult a lawyer ASAP.

Keep all records of medical treatment.

Oh, yes, if you go to court, expect that the oppossing counsel will have subpeoned ? (spelling) your personal records and can and might use anything in your past to discredit you.

24

I know it’s fashionable to pick on attorneys, but they’re not all scum-sucking bottom feeders. Find one you like, and more importantly, whose judgment you trust. Ask friends and family for references. A good attorney can advise you much more meaningfully than anybody here can, mostly because he/she will be able to get details from you that may be important but you haven’t related here.

There’s a lot of good advice already posted…I can’t stress enough that you should NOT sign anything where you give up your right to sue later.

Don’t be dissuaded simply because a lawsuit is messy (and they can be VERY messy) - if it takes a lawsuit to make you whole, do it.

25

H8_2_W8,

That’s kind of my point. Do you know why she wasn’t paying attention to the road? Under the best of circumstances we all get into our cars and don’t pay the proper attention to the road that we should. Perhaps she’s on a fixed income and her mind was on how to pay this month’s bills. Perhaps she had just avoided a collision and was thinking about how lucky she was to be intact. Perhaps she’d just avoided a dog and was thinking about how glad she was that she’d not hit the animal. Perhaps she was on the way to the store to get soup/aspirin/medication for someone sick at home and her thoughts were on her task.

We all get careless. Most of the time we get lucky and there’s no harm done. Clearly the outcomes are dependent upon both luck and skill. It’s certainly not “fair” that some clown gets into his car drunk, passes out, kills 4 people and doesn’t even remember being in the car while the next guy hits a puddle left by someone else’s radiator exploding, crashes into a tree and is left a qualraplegic.

Consider the drive into work this morning. Here it is only 3 hours later and I can’t recall one vehicle that I saw the last time I drove. If I were really paying attention to the driving something should have stood out.

Take the high road on this one. You’ve given no indication that she did anything other than think about something other than the 100’ of road immediately in front of her and collided with your vehicle because of it.

Now if something were to change and you discover that she was DUI or had failed to take her medicine for epilepsy or it becomes clear that someone sustained an actual injury that needs care then of course you should consider legal action.

And Aenea has given good advice that you should record every ache pain and reaction and if there is need to sue your position will be much better with proper documentation.

26

Sounds like you are still very traumatized by the event and angry about it to boot. Fair enough. If I was in your situation with my kids, I’d be pretty angry with the careless driving of the van operator as well.

On the other hand, fortunately no-one in your car was permanently injured or traumatized. Your wife’s muscle aches and bruises will likely heal very soon (I assume you went to a physician and had them checked out) and your baby will eventually forget the shock that he/she experienced. Babies are quite resilient, I find. I suspect that you also will get over your anger and urge for revenge in due time. It’s a natural reaction to feel as you do now, but not a permanently lasting one. In time you will put it in perspective.

As to whether you should sue or not. Well, that depends on whether or not the damage to your car will be covered by the offender’s insurance company to your satisfaction. Sueing for some fairly minor injuries sounds quite unnecessary to me. You, like all the other drivers on the road, assume the risk of injury and even death by getting behind the wheel. Granted, driving is almost a necessity in our culture, it’s still a risky kind of activity given the number of careless drivers on the roads these days. You have simply fallen victim in a comparatively small way and you should feel yourselves fortunate not to have suffered any more serious injuries. Sooner or later this kind of thing will happen to most drivers. It’s over and done. Get on with your lives.

As for teaching the woman a lesson, I’ll hazard a guess that if she was as careless as you described, she probably already has a long track record of incidents that her insurance company is aware of. This may be the final straw on the camel’s back and they may pull her insurance. Or this may have been her first accident and the only blemish on an otherwise spotless record. She may have simply been distracted by some bad news about her health or family member or whatever - it’s really irrelevant. You trying to add fuel to the fire with your lawsuite is really not going to make any difference one way or the other to her. Of course, if she had been drunk or strung out on drugs at the time of the accident then you would be fully justified in doing everything you could to keep her off the roads.

If you are like the rest of us mortals, I am sure you can recall a really stupid mistake or two you’ve made behind the wheel of your car at some point. Now, it may or may not have resulted in an accident but it very well could have and it’s simply a matter of timing and the other driver’s alertness to your mistake that prevented a potential tragedy. So before you get up on your high horse about how careless of a driver this woman was, you might want to think about all your near misses (or near hits as the case may be).

For the record, I consider myself an above average drive and I have a spotless driving record in which I take great pride. However, at no time do I assume that I cannot or will not make a mistake behind the wheel of my car. It’s foolish to villify people for what you are quite likely to do yourself despite yourself at some point in your life.

Finally, I do applaud you for not falling for the old broken computer bit phone call by the other insurance company. That was extremely astute of you. Well done.

27

Dinsdale, I would think that it is evident your comments were insulting to lawyers (or do you consider “whore” to be a compliment?). I take it from your second post that if one is doing a job primarily to make a living, one is therefore a “whore.” Tell me, how do you pay your bills?

Also, your original post was terribly insulting to victims of torts. You imply strongly that anyone who is injured by the negligence of another is really just an opportunist glad for the chance to sue and make some easy money. I find that extremely offensive, and I think most accident victims would agree.

I’m also a little disturbed here by the posts that seem to say, “Well, no one’s perfect - therefore, no one should have to answer for her negligence.” Maybe you all just mean that in this case, since the damage caused by this woman was not too horrific, and her insurance will replace the car, suing would be a waste of energy. OK, I can see that. But the idea that mistakes happen, and so no one should be responsible, is really dangerous.

28

I pay my bills by whoring, I mean lawyering. Fortunately I don’t have to do it pursuing or defending PI or other tort cases, a feeling that is refreshed every time I arbitrate such cases. The good thing about the experience is that it reaffirms my belief in my ability as a lawyer. Of course, you are probably right and the vast majority of PI attorneys I encounter are actually a small minority of the “profession” (gag).

With skin as thin as yours, are you subject to many paper cuts?

29

ricepad, you reminded me of the old chestnut:
What’s the difference between a lawyer and a catfish? One’s a scum sucking bottomfeeder, and the other is a fish.

30

And that would be covered by insurance.

Back to our regularly scheduled thread. I think Quicksilver made some excellent points. Perhaps the woman had some good reasons behind her carelessness, or perhaps she is a complete and total dumbass. But I am not sure that suing, once you do a cost/benefit analysis, will really satisfy your anger or punish her carelessness in the way you desire.

I’d make sure that the police have cited her for any and all traffic violations she’s got coming to her. Make sure that her insurance is responsible for any and all expenses you incur.

What’s at issue here is that you think someone did a dumb thing and is getting off easy. It happens all the time and it enrages me too. I understand the appeal of a lawsuit, which seems the most dramatic (maybe the only) way to rectify that. But I think the cost of such lawsuits (to society, to the plaintiffs, etc) is prohibitive. What would be more appealing, to me, would be a small-claims thing where it would be HER, not her insurance company, that had to deal with it all. A fine that would hurt, and hassle that would hurt, but not in the millions. But that’s probably not practical either, and the costs to you, again, are high.

Are there other remedies? I dunno. Maybe we need to work, in our society, to make sure that there are REAL sanctions against drivers who cause serious accidents (i.e. higher fines, suspension of license until they retake a driving test, 1000 lashes with a steel-tipped quirt, whatever).

P.S. I’m not surprised she didn’t apologize… even the best-intentioned people have had it beaten into them that in today’s litigious society, you can’t say sorry. It seems like “admitting” something. Sigh.

31

Dinsdale: I think Aeryn has a point, and it’s something you may want to consider. If you are an attorney, I can only wonder what happened in your life to give you such a low opinion of your chosen profession. It must be very depressing to work in a field you find personally degrading.

Given your views, I find it appalling that you continue to arbitrate personal injury cases. I for one would hate to be before an arbitrator who condemns both sides as whores before even hearing the case. Rather lacking in impartiality and approrpiate judicial temperment, aren’t you?

If I were you, I would seriously consider finding another line of work that you find more personally fulfilling. But then again, see my sig.

32

Hey, how could I get more impartial than thinking both sides are whores? Would I be more or less impartial if I thought both sides were completely honest and forthright? Remember, one side wins and the other loses. If one side is telling the truth, the other is …?

Besides, tho I believe many folk enter the judicial system to make a buck, my “whore” comment was directed at lawyers, not litigants.

Thanks for the concern, but I don’t consider my job depressing at all. Decent hours, no heavy lifting, paycheck supports a comfortable standard of living. Workplace computer has internet access. I’m not aware of another profession that would afford me a paycheck as “fulfilling” as the one I currently receive. I’ll entertain any offers, however, so long as they involve shorter and more flexible hours and higher pay than I currently enjoy.

See, I work to live, instead of the other way around. And my job is just that - a friggin’ job. Many lawyers like to get up on a pedestal and pretend otherwise. Profession my ass. Let’s add in “self regulating” profession, to complete the joke. Yeah, most lawyers love their work - find it endlessly exciting and rewarding. And lawyers get to pick and choose and only represent clients they like advancing causes of action they sympathize with. What planet are you living on? And the practice of law is just a thrill a minute - just like on TV. BTW, since the practice of law is so wonderful, what are the most recent ABA stats on the percentage of young lawyers who, if they had to do it over again would choose a career other than law?

I happen to be able to do the specific tasks that are required in my current line of work. If I had different abilities, I assume I would have pursued a different line of work.

I’m sure it is despite the best efforts of the legal profession, that the public so overwhelmingly holds such a high opinion of lawyers. You gotta remember that behind every sleazy lawyer advancing a meritless lawsuit, is a client trying to make a $. And it is easy to bitch and moan and joke about lawyers being sleazy, ruthless and unprincipled - until you feel you have been injured. Then you want to go out and get the nastiest asshole you can. You heard H8 - he wants REVENGE, baby. Let’s get ready to rumble! It is a rare case when a lawyer does best by his client by being a nice guy to the other side. Or am I mistaken in believing it is an adversarial setting? Gee. Adversaries. Just conjures up all those warm and fuzzy feelings.

Repeat after me. “There is no such thing as an accident, unless I am arguably at fault. And personal responsibility applies only to everyone but me.”

33

Take a few pictures of the car, get a copy of the police report and call one of the many ambulance chasers…oops, lawyers with full page ads in the yellow pages.

As a lot of folks said, the initial consultation won’t cost you a penny and they’ll let you know pretty quickly whether or not you have a case. Most of them pride themselves on the percentage of cases they’ve won, so if they think your suit is frivolous, they won’t touch it. Besides, they only get paid if you win.

I used one of these once when my daughter was injured, and the process is simple (or was 14 yrs. ago.) The lawyer gets your information and if he thinks you have a case, he says “thank you, we’ll keep in touch”. Several months later, he’ll call you and quote a figure. If you agree to the amount he’ll call you back in a couple of weeks to come in and pick up your check. Well, actually, you’ll sign the insurance check over to him and he’ll write you out his own check for that amount minus his third.

At least thats the way it was then. If it’s changed, feel free to correct me.

34

I was in an accident about 2 1/2 months ago. I have been driving since I was 18, and this was the first accident I have ever had. When my accident happened, I was not being careless. I was driving down a road I was very familiar with, and as I approached an intersection, I glanced off to the left. In that split second, I ended up ramming full force into the car in front of me. My (paid off) car was totalled. I now have make car payments AND my inurance has skyrocketed. Plus, I felt like shit for a long time afterwards. I still feel like shit when I think about it. The people I hit were VERY nice to me (they say they had to slam on their brakes because the car in front of them stopped suddenly, so I think they blamed the first car more than they blamed me), and I am grateful for that. I think that if they had yelled or been angry with me, I would have died from mortification right then and there.

I understand that H8 is shaken about the whole situation, and an insurance company so obviously fishing for info would piss me off too, but let’s not be so ready to revoke the offender’s DL. If she has a record, that would be a different story. But that woman could have been just like me.

35

While in college, same thing happened to me…

Except that I was not injured and my car was not totalled. It’s amazing how accidents really sound, the cars in front of me at the intersection sounded like they were exploding. So I didn’t sue and heck, the insurance company’s shop made my car better than before.

Anyway. Consult an attorney and seriously consider a lawsuit whenever an injury ocurrs. Yes, yes lawyers are scum sucking bottom feeders but it beats the alternative - burning down the other driver’s house and putting her to the sword. The problem with frivolous lawsuits is not that we are more litigious than we were but that judges have forgotten to throw out nonsense suits and discipline the shysters that file them.

Demand that the other company provide you with a loaner vehicle (they have plenty) and that they quickly compensate you with a vehicle of comparable value. She didn’t take the Blue Book value of your car, she took your car.

The other insurance company is looking to get off as cheaply as possible, do not trust anything they say.

Since she was cited in the accident, make sure that you talk to the officer that the court be made aware that this accident was no fender bender.

Don’t wory about being sued and the individual struck in the rear should immediately file a countersuit. That case does look like a scum sucking attempt to squeeze money out of your insurance company. Most states (except no-fault) will always rule against a driver who strikes the rear of another car.

JMTC

36

“She admitted fault to the police” She shouldn’t have done that, should have kept her mouth shut even if it was correct.
At any rate, call the insurance comp. They aren’t all slimy. A lot of them are pretty nice. Just have the proof you need & talk to their claims manager. Don’t sue anyone, it’ll take forever & you won’t get as much as you have to give the lawyer their share. Lawyers are more slimy than insurance agents, no offense to any law students here.

37

FIRST: see a CHIROPRACTOR-he will run your medical bills up to the level where you can sue
SECOND: get an experienced PI whore (I mean lawyer), preferably some guy who deals in this all the time
THIRD: become a hypochondriac-that little ache in your big toe-it might be accident-related!
FOURTH: dummy up-don’t say ANYTHJING to ANYBODY-let the lawyer handle this

38

As someone mentioned above, since there were three vehicles involved we could be named in a suit ourselves “while the courts sort it out.” This is a reason why we should at least contact a lawyer.

I personally don’t agree with the “it was just a mistake; accidents happen” line of reasoning. People are held responsible for their actions if the actions are within their control. As far as I know (as told to me by the cop who came to the hospital ER to check up on us) the van driver didn’t have any malfunctioning brakes and she wasn’t avoiding anyone in front of her. She either saw the red light too late and tried to run it or she never saw the red light, which means she wasn’t paying attention.

I, along with everyone else, have done something stupid or careless while driving I’m sure. I’m in frequent commute traffic and I know a couple times where I’ve started to change lanes and someone honks because they’re in my blind spot. Had I hit them, then it would be my fault because I didn’t check well enough. I would have to take responsibility, even though I obviously wouldn’t have intended to hit them and it would have been “just a mistake.”

The way the van driver’s insurance company is acting makes me think that they expect she/they will be sued because the driver was negligent and people were injured. Maybe they would drop her coverage anyhow, maybe they would just raise her rates. Either way, I think she would be more likely to be punished if her insurer has to pay (as I think someone with insurance industry knowledge noted above.)

She was negligent, people were hurt and I think we’ll call a lawyer to get a better feel for what the law says and what the courts will do.

39

You know damn well if YOU were the one who hit HER, your ass would be in court faster than you can say ‘paycheck garnishment’. I think you should work with an attorney to try and get the best possible settlement out of court - it should be substantial, such as $5,000 cleared after legal fees, repairs, medical, lost wages, etc. If you can’t get that much, then it’s time to go to court. If you do get it, put it in a Roth IRA for your kid to go to school.

I’ve been in several accidents, and been the cause of 2. Nobody showed me any mercy, and they shouldn’t have. When I make a mistake, it’s time to pay, and I expect no less of other people. In both of my cases, the plaintiff’s lawyer negotiated with my insurance company, and the thing was settled out of court. And it DID end up costing me, in much higher premiums for many years. But I’ve been accident free for 7 years now, and my rates are pretty low.

Nixon’s advice about the loaner and getting your full car value is good - do not accept an inferior loaner car - do not compromise, just say “well, see you in court”. Demand a new car of equivalent make. You think your car will ever be the same? And it’s resale and trade-in value will be greatly reduced - get that back from them too.

And finally, I want you to read this carefully, and repeat it as many times as necessary:

WE ARE NOT ASSHOLES FOR WANTING TO USE THE COURTS TO GET A FAIR LEGAL REMEDY FOR ALL OF OUR INCONVENIENCE. THIS IS NOT A FRIVOLOUS CASE, AS SERIOUS LOSS OF PROPERTY AND POTENTIAL LOSS OF LIFE OCCURRED. WE ARE GOOD PEOPLE WHO WERE IN A BAD ACCIDENT.

The reason is that the opposing attorney and insurance company will sure as hell try to make you feel that way. Don’t fall for it.

40

A lot of the people that responded to you seem to think that if you have an attorney that you automatically are going to sue. Not true.

Get the attorney even if you don’t sue. Let them handle this adjuster, and your claim. As I stated before, attorney fees can be added on if you do go to court, so you should not need to lessen the amount of your settlement.

Things your attorney should handle:

Any more conversation with the insurance company adjuster and claims department.

What you should handle:

Document everything, get that notebook out.

Get estimates for your vehicle, 3 in writing if repair is in order. At least 2 in writing from a dealership if the car is totaled. Again, you do not care about actual Kelly Blue Book value. You want replacement cost on your vehicle. You did not need to replace this car before it was smacked into.

Get a loaner vehicle until you can replace your car, from the girl’s insurance co. Do Not, I repeat, DO NOT, let them talk you into renting a car, unless they are paying for it, on their charge card. Don’t involve your own credit cards, whatever you do.

If I think of anything else, I’ll post it later.