What do I do? I just received lawsuit papers from a 3 year old car accident.?

Question

Three years ago, I lost control of my car on a Two way road. My car was totalled and I had severe bruising. My car crashed into a county school bus, which had come to a complete stop because they saw I had lost control. The school bus driver is suing me for her injuries, which I recall to be none but a sore ankle from bearing down on the brake too hard. She told me this because she came into the hospital to be checked as I was leaving it. I plan to call my insurance company when I get the papers in my hand. (I had my mom to open them) What do I do next? This is a bit scary to me, but I know of SURETY I don't plan to give her a penny. Any Advice would be helpful (your prayers would be too!!!)

Answer 1

I wouldn't worry too much about it, maybe request to have a copy of what her injuries were and maybe consult some professionals about the likely hood those injuries occured as a result of your crash. Shes probably trying to milk you for money now and the injury is probably superficial or non existant. Check for a statute of limitations , or lawyer up.

Answer 2

If you had auto insurance at the time of the accident, contact your insurer. Most states carry a minimum legal limit of bodily injury insurance that every driver must carry. In most cases (review your auto policy for specifics) insurance companies will defend you in any suit free of charge. It's also worthwhile to note that some states carry statutes of limitations involving auto accidents. If your state's statute has run, the woman may have no legal right to pursue the case.

Bottom line: Your insurance company should be able to answer all of the questions you have. If you are with a different insurance carrier now, make sure that you contact the company that was insuring the vehicle you drove at the time of the accident.

Answer 3

If you are insured, you should contact the insurance company right away. They should provide for an attorney to handle this, as they are the ones who would ultimately foot the bill (no pun intended) for a successful lawsuit against their insured driver. Don't let it panic you too much in the meantime. You'll have a chance to tell your lawyer (or the insurance company's lawyer appearing on your behalf) your side of the story, what the other side said to you at the time of the accident, and so on.

Answer 4

First of all relax. If you were insured, then it is less likely you will end up paying anything. Secondly, forward a copy of the papers to your insurance agency, IMMEDIATELY. Overnight mail, certified with a return receipt so you have a record of who and when they received it. Thirdly, contact an attorney in your jurisdicition. Depenedant on the laws of your city, state, country, etc...there may or may not be service of process (legal papers) issues, Statute of Limitations, monetary threshold, etc.

Finally, if you can think of any witnesses who saw the driver walking, or heard her complain of only pain in the ankle, then contact them immediately. Good luck.

Answer 5

First off, as terrible as it sounds, please remove your question from here. You have just admitted fault by posting that you "lost control" of your car.

Next, while your insurance company will be paying up to a certain amount (depending on what amount of insurance you carry), you are the person who is being sued, not your insurance company. So once this is all over, your insurance is bound to go up.

I know about this for two unfortunate reasons...I've just had to sue someone who hit me...they were the defendant, not their insurance company. And someone has just sued my son...who hit them - he was on my policy, and my insurance went UP!

Answer 6

She may be sueing just within the Statute of Limitations, but she has to prove her injuries. She is gonna have to show that because of the accident, she lost time off the job and/or was unable to perform normal duties. Shes gonna have to provide medical records from that time showing she incurred expenses because of the injuries from the accident.
Im guessing someone told her she was within her rights to sue, and she is. But shes gonna have to prove it. And after all this time, if she doesnt have all that I have mentioned, shes not gonna get anywhere.

Answer 7

One very good thing in your favor is the question of why she waited so long?

I would think your insurance company would handle the suit. Call them to be sure. If you engage a lawyer when they would have handled it for you, you usually end up voiding their involvement and you don't want to do that because they have way more experience and resources for dealing with suits.

Answer 8

i ought to imagine that the vet ought to have suggested if this replaced into life threatning. The canines is likely nevertheless a touch shaken and drained as you have to be to. If uncertain or the canines isn't performing properly i ought to call the vet back and ask some specified questions. that is what you paid for. If he receives really torpid and gums get paler then i ought to take to ER vet asap. ought to have inner harm that first vet did not detect or in certain situations those injures ensue later. ought to have a slow inner bleed. good success and keep him warmth and comfortable. grant nutrition and water in small quantities.

Answer 9

Three years is not that long. She's probably just under any statue of limitations. If you're insured they will fight her so you may not have to worry about that - but your insurance premiums may skyrocket and that's something you may wish to fight. I can just about guarantee you she would have no injuries if you'd had no insurance.

Answer 10

If I'm not mistaken they are really suing your insurance company not you. Get this to your insurance company and see where they tell you to go from there.