Car Accident Lawsuit - No Fault

[sapphire]

Tell your Mom, "no worries!" Those insurance company lawyers do this every single day, and I doubt very, very seriously if it would ever make it to trial. The plaintiffs may end up with a little bit of money out of it, but they will certainly not get millions. Unfortunately, your Mom's rates may go up on the next renewal, which completely sucks, but she should not be losing any sleep. Poor thing--this is why you get insurance! So you can sleep at night! Bless her heart. I hope it all works out well for her, as I imagine it will.

[Paka]

Hey, my inlaws live in South Dakota...and there are LOTS of accidents there believe it or not...mostly because of the gravel roads and the gravel shoulders to the roads...about 3 of the teens in my nieces HS were killed in her 4 yrs in school over losing control on the gravel...so don't think SD is the place for you! Now North Dakota...that might work!

[sapphire]

Originally Posted by Paka

Hey, my inlaws live in South Dakota...and there are LOTS of accidents there believe it or not...mostly because of the gravel roads and the gravel shoulders to the roads...about 3 of the teens in my nieces HS were killed in her 4 yrs in school over losing control on the gravel...so don't think SD is the place for you! Now North Dakota...that might work!

Yes, but I think that might "test his frosticles!" North Dakota was not meant for humans!

[PopsGuysRule]

Originally Posted by rd2007

I'm seriously considering a move to somewhere like South Dakota, just so I can get away from people on the road.. Never thought the idea of living somewhere like that would be appealing, but it sure seems like a refreshing escape.. I seriously doubt there's any excuse for an accident up there..

WHOAAA HO! And that would be the WRONG move, believe it or not... when I was working in a multi state ofc, in the late '90's SD juries were awarding EIGHT times the medicals at trials!!!
Don't know if that's still true, but 8 x meds was unheard of!!!!!

[Paka]

Not to mention you can't find a decent tortilla up that way!!!!!

[PopsGuysRule]

Originally Posted by yosoyway

Maybe someone here can answer my question.

My mother in law who is 67 was involved in a minor accident at a 4 way stop. There were no witnesses. The police officer did not give any tickets and basically said since there were no witnesses, each party could go their own way and fix their vehicles. My mother in law immediately reported it to her insurance company.

That afternoon the other driver's husband called my mother in law and told her in a very threatening manner that she needed to repair their car. He did this for about 3 days and said he was going to get a lawyer.

About 2 weeks ago, she was served with papers stating that she was being sued. Her insurance company sent her a letter stating that she was being provided with an attorney to defend her in the lawsuit.

But she is very nervous and worried and she can't sleep. I tried to tell her not to worry but she won't feel better. I went to see where this persons live and I was not surprised by what I saw. They live in a very run down trailer park and their trailer home is the worst one there. I'm thinking this persons want easy money.

After this long story, my question is how can they file a lawsuit against my mother in law? Do they have a case? The damage to the cars was minimal.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Well, there are a lot of unknowns here, and there is also some other misinformation in some other posts.... BUT...

1.) You said the policeman did not issue any tickets, but did he write a report? Police officers do NOT - NOT EVER - make liability determinations; Claims Adjusters do that. Police rpts are helpful to understand the intersections, what type of traffic controls are in place, how many lanes, what each driver reported INITIALLY (which sometimes changes by the time they speak to the claims adjuster - AHEM!!)

2.) Did her insurance company contact her and take her recorded statement? They do need to get a statement from her and if the claimant driver and claimant passenger are claiming injuries, the adjuster should ATTEMPT to get their recorded statements too. They are not obligated, whereas your mother, per her policy language IS obligated to give a statement, but ONLY to her own ins company. She can give one to the adverse carrier if she wishes but should NEVER give one to any attorney except those authorized by her carrier. Even then, the defense atty (her carrier's atty) would not likely ask for one if the claim adjuster already got one. He/she MIGHT depose her if the case went to trial, but that's not likely here.

3.) My guess, because it appears they went directly to an attorney (at least is sounds that way based on the info you've given) is that they HAVE NO INSURANCE; otherwise, they would have filed a claim with their carrier and let them deal with the adjuster at your mother's company. No attorney would file suit against without first bringing their client's carrier into the picture. In fact, policy language will also state something to the effect that if you enter into any negotiations, agreements, proceedings, etc, you MAY forfeit your rights under your policy (such as, legal representation, and possibly EVEN payment of any damages awarded in a court of law, etc.)

4.) If these people drove off from an accident site, clearly did not request medical assistance at the scene, they are NOT going to go to trial in any jurisdiction anywhere on Gods green earth. They would never even see a trial. Most jurisdictions require mediation first (attorney and adjuster meet up at the courthouse, go off in separate rooms, and a mediator (just another local attorney) goes back and forth between the ajduster and the claimant/clmt attorney, until they reach an agreement. But in NO instance where there were not injuries reported at the scene and no immediate medical assistance required, is a judge going to let a case go to trial. EVER. NEVER EVER.

She needs to report this claim to her carrier, cooperate with the investigation. Unfortunately, because we do know, with medical certainty, that injuries do NOT necessarily manifest until sometime after the actual accident, an adjuster could indeed pay for a claim that was reported late. HOWEVER, in this case, we don't even know for certain if a reasonable adjuster would even find your mother LIABLE (at fault) for the accident.

I sure wish I knew the details of this accident. Tell your mom not to worry and to work with her adjuster. The letter she received is standard fare and is a legal obligation of the carrier to their insured customers. I agree, they can sound pretty scary and threatening at times.
I've been an adjuster for nearly 18 years;
Unfortunately, exact details vary from claim to claim but I can probably at least let you know what to expect in terms of process.
These folks are blowin' in the wind and they probably have a - well, in claims we have a not very nice word for these ambulance chaser type attorneys - I cannot say it here and be allowed to stay on the boards.....

[Muhnay]

Never mind follow the post above mine.. good advice there.

[PopsGuysRule]

P.S. there is, in reality, NEVER, a no fault accident. There are 'no-fault' coverages, (PIP - Personal Injury Protection) and some states have 'tried' to foster a 'no fault' legal system for accidents, but never truly successfully.

There is ALWAYS someone at fault... AAAALLLLLLWAYS... and a good claims adjuster, who is thorough, and looks for the little details (and the big ones), can always ultimately determine who is at fault......

[yosoyway]

Thank all of you for the replies and suggestions. I am thinking she should also file a lawsuit against them. Especially for all this stress.

And to give an answer to PopsGuysRule:

1.) "You said the policeman did not issue any tickets, but did he write a report?" He did file a report and she got a copy.

2.) "Did her insurance company contact her and take her recorded statement?" Her insurance company did contact her and took her recorded statement. I told her not to talk to anyone else besides a representative from her insurance. I told her to contact her insurance agent to verify that a person is associated with her insurance if she has any doubts.

3.) "My guess, because it appears they went directly to an attorney (at least is sounds that way based on the info you've given) is that they HAVE NO INSURANCE; otherwise, they would have filed a claim with their carrier and let them deal with the adjuster at your mother's company. No attorney would file suit against without first bringing their client's carrier into the picture. In fact, policy language will also state something to the effect that if you enter into any negotiations, agreements, proceedings, etc, you MAY forfeit your rights under your policy (such as, legal representation, and possibly EVEN payment of any damages awarded in a court of law, etc.)"
They showed proof of insurance to the police officer. But a lot of people carry insurance cards but the policy is not in effect. I think you are correct. I don't think they had insurance. I am more surprised that this attorney filed a lawsuit without including this person's carrier but your comment would explain this.

And yes I agree with you about this attorneys that take advantage of the system and innocent people.

Thank you.