Tapped someone's bumper 1.5 years ago... being sued for 116k

[Mephistopheles Janx]

I was among a pack of vehicles that started moving and suddenly stopped. I didn't stop in time. No damage to her vehicle and slight damage to mine.

FF 1.5 years later, I get a letter form my insurance telling me that I may be on the hook for everything over the 100k personal injury limit. I hit this person in their shitty 3k car at no more than 5-10mph and they got medical bills exceeding my ****ing surgery for a tumor in my leg.

I ****ing hate people. Especially hate scammers.

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by MephistophelesJanx

Interesting contribution to the thread. No, I wasn't on my phone, tablet, or any other electronic device. I was driving into the sun and simply did not see she had stopped while everyone else was still moving forward. My fault, 100% but I disagree that makes me a shitty driver.

Fair enough. But the question had to be asked.

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by BWillie

I absolutely love texting and driving. I like to watch movies while driving too.

Not surprising from you.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

Not surprising from you.

Auto pilot brah. Probably still bad - but not as bad.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Auto pilot brah. Probably still bad - but not as bad.

Autopilot?

Oh that's right, you drive one of them electrical doohickeys that drive themselves. Freaking hipster whipper snappers!

[Hamwallet]

8 years ago I got re ended in my 2004 GTO I had cranked up to about 450whp. It was a badass car. Someone ran into the back of the guy that hit me and I was pushed into a Chevy Tahoe. The girl in the Tahoe was at my window before I knew what even happened, “OMG are you ok?!” Her bumper was slightly tilted and my car was trashed on both ends.

She ended up suing me for 45 grand because she couldn’t go to work after the accident and Gieco settled out of court for 35 grand. The cop that worked the scene was on my side. He said under oath it was not my fault and had evidence to back it up. Still lost because my insurance company said it was easier to settle then go to trial.

Get a lawyer besides your insurance company lawyer.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Autopilot?

Oh that's right, you drive one of them electrical doohickeys that drive themselves. Freaking hipster whipper snappers!

Doohickeys is about one of my favorite words. Followed by wershington

[ping2000]

She might come after you again 35 years from now for touching her, but she won't remember exactly when or where, make or model, or number of doors. No worries.

[Demonpenz]

when I was an injury adjuster I would cut a check for 100K and call it a day to get down my cycle time and go back to playing fantasy football.

[scho63]

This past summer after just being released earlier in the day from the hospital after suffering a mini stroke. aka Ischemic Transient Attack, I had a guy in a Ford F150 fail to stop at a Stop sign and smashed into me while riding my bike.

Taken to the hospital for precaution for a concussion, back or neck issue or what hurt at first, my hip.

I told them don't worry about it, they paid all my medical bills and $1500 for inconvenience, all satisfactory for me.

I don't need to go into lawsuits just to try and make money. That's Bullshit!

[Couch-Potato]

ugh! I live in a very congested city, small fender bender's are common, but that's what a ****ing bumper is for people. I hate when two cars tap, and both drivers get out knowing perfectly well there's no damage. The one guy always contacts the other two weeks later just to feel out whether they think they can get away with lying.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Umbrella policies do add protection - but in general I believe they are overrated. Just more for the other party to go after. I guarantee you that if somebody had 10k liability limits versus 100k liability limits the settlement will always be waaaaay less even for the same accident, same "damages" for the person who has 10k liability limits.

But yeah - they are so cheap - if you have alot of assets might as well get one. With my insurance policy it actually SAVES me money to get an umbrella policy due to the discount it helps me get on my cars and houses.

Depending on the insurer, I suppose they can be expensive. If you have several drivers under your policy (as I do) and there's a litigator under every rock (as there are), I felt that it was a good idea. Probably not for everybody, I guess.

One of the reasons to consider it is that it provides the necessary funds for the insurance company to hire outside counsel and investigators if needed.

We live in a world where everybody's praying they either win the lottery or find themselves in a car crash. I don't like that world one bit. But I also don't want to get dragged into it. Frankly, I prefer the olden days when people accidentally injured each other then settled it like men with broken-off beer bottles and flinging dudes headfirst into jukeboxes.

FAX

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by Hamwallet

8 years ago I got re ended in my 2004 GTO I had cranked up to about 450whp. It was a badass car. Someone ran into the back of the guy that hit me and I was pushed into a Chevy Tahoe. The girl in the Tahoe was at my window before I knew what even happened, “OMG are you ok?!” Her bumper was slightly tilted and my car was trashed on both ends.

She ended up suing me for 45 grand because she couldn’t go to work after the accident and Gieco settled out of court for 35 grand. The cop that worked the scene was on my side. He said under oath it was not my fault and had evidence to back it up. Still lost because my insurance company said it was easier to settle then go to trial.

Get a lawyer besides your insurance company lawyer.

If you rear-end someone, 99% of the time you will be deemed at fault for not maintaining proper distance, even under your scenario.

[Shaid]

Originally Posted by sxrich

I'm a bodily injury adjuster for a large insurance company. Really too much information to go into the full detail of how a bodily injury claim works. More than likely, your insurance company received a "demand" from the 3rd party's attorney. I would assume that the attorney did not know your Bodily Injury policy limit, so the attorney demanded a large amount, based on her medical bills, loss wages and pain and suffering. The letter you received was an "excess letter." Your insurance company is legally required to notify you that there is potential that the 3rd party's bodily injury claim might exceed your $100k Bodily Injury coverage. The language in the letter will advise that you have a right to obtain an attorney. However, as part of your personal auto policy, your insurance company will provide a defense, if it went thru the courts, i.e. mediation, arbitration or trial. So, honestly, I wouldn't worry about retaining an attorney at this time.

Based on your vague description of the accident, I would be SHOCKED if your insurance company did not challenge the mechanism of injury that would cause medical bills in excess of $100k. With that said, legally, your insurance company has a legal obligation to do everything in their power to settle the 3rd party's bodily injury claim within your policy limit. Thus, your insurance company might make a business decision to settle her claim for your $100k bodily injury policy limit, in order to protect you and your family's assets. If they didn't and it went to court and the jury amount exceeded your policy limit, you would be personally responsible for the amount above your limit. However, you could then sue your insurance company for Bad Faith, which is a capless lawsuit (that's how multi-million dollar judgments are levied against insurance companies). With that said, I would not stress out about the letter you received, as your insurance company will ultimately do what's best for you and them, which is to ultimately settle her claim.

Great info and always good to hear from a professional in the field.

[BleedingRed]

First if you had insurance they cannot sue you because you are indemnified. Your insurance company cannot bail out and say they won't cover the cost. She won't be awarded 100k based on statue of limitations.

But if you really wanna **** her, sue her ass back for emotional damages.

[ptlyon]

I was sued for over my insurance value after rear ending a vehicle once myself.

There were 4 in the vehicle but was being sued by a woman in it for pain and suffering and trauma to her marriage as she could not, and I repeat, "have sex bending over". No joke.

After a year or so of the insurance company battling it I received a letter in the mail from my insurance that the lawsuit was dropped. They had found out she was accepted to nursing school and in order to do that she had to pass a physical. Case closed.