I’m in the sticky aftermath of a lawsuit right now which didn’t involve a car, but did involve negligent and dangerous conditions at a business which led to thousands of dollars in medical bills and scars I will have (on my face!) for the rest of my life. The business owners refused to show up for court, and refused to even say who their insurance company was. They’ve since closed down the location of their business in the state that it happened in and so we’re trying to collect from them in a different state where they’re still in operation. Now, in most cases I would feel bad about suing individuals, but these guys owned very popular nightclubs and are not hurting for cash, and as I don’t have medical insurance, all of the stuff I needed done came out of my pocket. Plus they’re being assholes about it.
The board is giving you some good info on how to proceed, but the statements of yours that I’ve bolded indicate to everyone that you’re mixing a lot of emotion into the way you’re thinking about this. You need to take a deep breath and slow down. The accident just happened yesterday and you need to realize that it’s gonig to take time for the system to work. So far, nothing you’ve said has indicated that the guy who hit your husband did it on purpose. Your husband had the right of way, but that doesn’t mean that the guy who hit him ran a red light, was drunk, etc. Or maybe he did/was. You just need to wait until you know all the facts.
A lawsuit may change the thinking of one driver but not the rest…how would other drivers even know? If others in your community feel the same, then you need to talk to your elected officials about taking action. If they don’t do anything, talk with your vote, or even run for office yourself. There are ways to get your community behind a cause, but a lawsuit isn’t one of them. Talking to the bus stop moms is a good start. Maybe start a petition asking for speed bumps or something like that.
Collections can be the hardest part of case, especially when corporate entities are involved. The unwritten rule of litigation is don’t sue people with no money. OpalCat I’m surprised that the nightclub owners didn’t simply turn it over to the insurance company since the insurance company will pay for the defense.
LavenderBlue, I think that you and your husband should talk to one or more attorneys. It is too soon at this point to file suit since the full extent of the damages are unknown, but an attorney in your state will be better able to advise you of that.
That surprised us too. Made us wonder if their insurance had lapsed or something.
As I said before, his insurance company is likely listed on the police report. Call them and file a claim. That is the normal procedure. A laywer or a suit are rarely needed. I spent five years in auto and property claims and have seen thousands of these situations.
Depending on where you live, you may want to file a claim with your insurance as well. Medpay or PIP might apply that would help with the medical costs until you settle with the other company.
Would someone please get this crusader a cape! :rolleyes:
My husband’s been driving for over two decades. He’s never hit anyone. Ever. Neither have I (nor to my knowledge any of my friends and relatives) during nearly the same time frame.
Have you?
This is not a get rich quick scheme on our parts. This is someone fractured my husband’s bones when he had the legal right of way and I would like to know what’s going to happen to the guy who did it. Why would it be my responsibility to worry if he ever gets to drive again?
As for what I want well right now that would be for my husband to take me seriously when I tell him that he shouldn’t dare attempt a shower when he has fractured bones.
Actually one of my friend (who is indeed the lawyer who suggested we sue) is a court consel for a judge. She’s on the state payroll.
I agree with this. I don’t understand the adamant opposition to LavenderBlue and her husband retaining an attorney. Yes, they could try to duke it out with the insurance companies themselves and hope they get whatever is fair under the law, OR they could hire someone to represent them in those battles who has experience dealing with the same type of situation.
I agree with those who say that punishment shouldn’t be the motivating factor, however. Sure, LavenderBlue, it’s understandable that you’re angry that someone you love was hurt because of someone else’s mistake. But if it truly was an innocent mistake (which it sounds like it was), I’m not sure you’re going to be able to make that person feel any more remorse than he already feels.
Have you ever had an accident? Has your husband? This is no different. No different at all. It was an error in judgement that resulted in (relatively) minor injuries. No different than if you whacked another car in an intersection. It happens EVERY DAY and people don’t lose their license or get sued.
Talk to the insurance company. They will evaluate the incident and put a dollar amount to his pain and suffering. If it’s under what is generally considered fair compensation for this type of accident, then you can call a lawyer.
Be thankful your husband is alive. Be thankful the driver actually stopped. An old woman who drove safe for “over 20 years” hit, killed and then left the man to die because she thought she just hit a dog. This scenario is repeated too frequently for comfort in the USA.
You are right, you should not have to pay the medical costs. However I think the decision to sue is your husband’s.
I’ve been nearly run over by a car quite a number of times in the nearly seven years that I’ve lived here. This includes times when I had a baby carriage in front of me and the light at my side.
Just last year one of my neighbor’s kids was struck by a commuter on his way to work. Thankfully he’s fine.
But there is a problem here and what happened to my husband an illustration of that fact yet again. Judging by the reaction at the bus stop this morning there is real anger here and justifiably so.
Thank you. That’s very helpful info.
I am waiting. I just want to know what to do (if anything) in the meantime besides tend to my husband.
FYI, our block has speed bumps. This hasn’t prevented speeders. At one point there were signs measuring just how fast people were going down the block and attempts to ticket people. I would like to see a true community wide effort of some sort and may look into attending meetings to talk to officials about it.
FYI New Jersey accident reports don’t spell out the insurance company. They only have the three digit code that the state assigns the company. You can find a list of the companies and their codes here.
I didn’t when I was hit by a car but I had no significant injuries.
It’s in there: http://www.abanet.org/health/01_interest_groups/02_media/Events/Holmes_Subrogation-and-Reimbursement_070627.pdf
Another option is to sue your community. You don’t need to sue for monetary gain. Force them to fix the problem.
Our street is actually a 45 mph secondary truck route. I’ve been rear-ended just pulling into my driveway. Twice! When the traffic gets too fast and reckless, we call the police and they send a squad car to sit and give the stink-eye to the passing traffic, and write tickets when warranted.
We also requested (and received) a “hidden driveway” sign. Now, the fact that the pinhead who erected the sign put it behind a tree is another issue. But these things can be fixed.
Came in to say the same thing.
Unless there was truly malicious intent, or a really really egregious violation of the laws (e.g. running a red light). Did the car in question have a right turn light available or something like that? (e.g. husband walking north-to-south, crossing an east-west street, and someone driving on the north-south road hit him). Operating under the assumption that the driver simply made a human screwup, I’d just go for medical costs / time lost from work, maybe something to cover possibly future long-term issues from the accident.
Of course if the driver was doing 90 in a 30 MPH zone, or drunk, or running red lights, or whatever… NAIL 'EM TO THE WALL. That’s time for punitive action, not just costs recovered.
(on reading more of the thread, it sounds like there’s a lot more at fault than simple human error, so adjust the above as appropriate. I do suspect the driver is feeling pretty horrified, but that doesn’t solve the greater dangerous situation).
Or looking at it the other way around (and probably with a more honest response).
How much would he pay out of his own pocket to not have had it happen in the first place?
You seem over your head LavenderBlue. You don’t have to sue. You can hire an attorney to negotiate the settlement and make sure that all medical bills are paid. $50k seems (to me) to be the high end of the settlement field, provided your husband does not need surgery for his injuries.
To protect yourself, once you get the insurance company’s name call them to confirm that a file has been opened. For your current medical bills, you will have to pass along the name of the driver’s insurance company and the claim number/policy number to the provider. Any other bills you recieve will need to be forwarded to the ins co. If your health ins co is fronting the payments now, they will usually work out the subrogation with the driver’s ins co directly. In my experience, most health ins co.'s, after the initial treatment, will refuse to cover treatment for the injury if there’s another ins co that will be primary; so it is most important for you to get the driver’s ins co on the line for future treatment. You’ll find out the policy limits at that time as well. If you have homeowner’s insurance or your own vehicle insurance, you should probably put them on notice of the accident as well. If the driver has insufficient insurance, then you are treading into the murky waters of underinsured coverage (if you have it on your policy and not knowing NJ law on this topic). I’m not saying you’d have a claim, but just pointing out the possibilty.
Whether to sue or negotiate a settlement is not something that needs to be decided at this time. You need to wait until your husband has recovered from his injuries. In the meantime, keep track of all medical providers, miles to and from the providers, days/hours missed from work for both you and your husband, co-pays for doc visits and Rx fills, and any other out-of-pocket expenses that pertain to the injury itself - no rushing out to buy that hot tub! 
When the docs say he’s healed/about as good as it’s going to get, then’ll you need decide. Most reputable insurance companies will wait until then to bring up settlement.
I hope your husband feels better soon.
We got whacked by a non-insured driver. Our insurance company paid for the repairs to the truck and that was that. I think the state may have suspended the other driver’s plates. A clear example of Shit Happens Syndrome.
Wait wait wait-- you haven’t talked to city officials about the problem yet? You haven’t filed a complaint with the city, or with the PD that isn’t enforcing the law? You just want to jump right into the possibility of suing one driver; not solely to recoup the cost of cleaning up this mess, but also to make a point to the other drivers? You did say
It’s not as if all of these drivers have banded together to form a Union of Evil and speed through your area just to piss you off. This may have been the first time this particular guy was coming through your area. There could be a thousand variables involved in why exactly this accident occured. But none of that matters, really, because after all–it’s your job to bypass formal complaints and city council meetings and grab the attention of the Axis of Crazy Drivers and send a message that this will.not.be.tolerated!
This really is looking more and more like a “get a little rich quick” scheme. I’d really, really encourage you (again) to put yourself in this guy’s shoes. You’ve been driving since the dawn of time, always careful, but just had a horrible, horrible accident. You made a mistake, you stopped, did everything you were supposed to do, and feel like crap. Your insurance company will hopefully cover all of the medical bills, lost wages, and an appropriate amount of P&S. But somewhere out there, some caped crusader is seeking advice from the teeming millions on whether or not she should convince her husband to sue you to send a message.