My son was hit while traveling straight down the road by a person who pulled out in front of him?

Question

we live in alabama. Our lawyer told us the opposing insurance company said that my son was somewhat at fault. He was on his way to school and maybe speeding, Another car pulled out hitting him and totaling his car. My son's car was knocked into a pole that was broken and turned upside down. The opposing insurance adjuster said that someone said my son was speeding when he was hit by another vehicle, how can they say that my son was somewhat at fault when he was the one hit? We settled on the car itself but the insurance company is making a ridiculous claim and offer. Please help I am about to fire the attorney.

Please help if you know how i to find out about this law my attornery supposely said could come into play.

Answer 1

So what you're saying is someone cut off your son? It makes sense... if your son wasn't speeding then the through traffic (him) has the right of way. If he was cut off, and wasn't speeding, the other person is definately at fault. In most cars, the speedometer will "stick" at the speed the car was traveling at the time of the accident, so if you still have access to the car, go look and see what it reads. If nothing else, sue the insurance company. They will often settle to avoid court, and if not, the "witness" who saw your son speeding will have to come to court.

Answer 2

Well, are the witnesses police officers or are they trained to spot speeders? Did they have a radar gun to prove he was speeding? Was he maybe just going faster than the other traffic that may not have been going speed limit? If they were travelling behind them, was their speedometer tested or certified to make sure it was correct? These are all things a lawyer should ask a witness in a court case that says another driver was speeding. Especially if it's just one witness.

With just one witness, I would imagine it would be hard to prove he was speeding unless it was blatant and he was far over the speed limit. That would make the charge that he was speeding (unless, of course, a trained law enforcement officer saw him), could be weak evidence in court. If more than one witness says it, though, it becomes a little harder for the courts to ignore.

Your question is kind of confusing.
If I'm reading it right, the other driver pulled out and hit him in the side of the car? If that's the case, then no, your son shouldn't even be partially at fault unless he was going WAY over the speed limit (a certain possibility if he was running a little late). A good accident investigator can measure the skid marks and damage caused and approximate how fast he was going when the accident occurred. This will likely happen if it goes to court. Also, if the other driver says he was speeding, then they kind of bury themselves in that they admit they could tell he was speeding, but still pulled out in front of or into him.

If the other driver pulled out cutting your son off, and he rear-ended them, then yes, he probably would be found partially at fault in court.

Like Dodge said, best to find out FOR SURE what speed he was going, and get all of the details right. Might even tell your son that it may have to go to court and they will likely hire an investigator to find out the speed so he needs to be absolutely sure approximately what speed he was going and what happened.

Ask your lawyer what recourse you have before going into court. Before firing him, you could consult with another lawyer and ask their opionion after giving them all of the facts and see what they say about it.

Answer 3

i have read this 3 times ,and i don't know if id fire the attorney just yet on it,i think id have one more talk with him, if there are witnesses that will state that your son was speeding,then that puts his speed at more than it should have been,and they will say because of his speed he was ahead of where he should have been,and he probably did cause the accident,that's what any court would say about it,the fact that they are willing to settle on this indicates they may not be sure on it,but still yet you need to have a really long talk with your son,and make sure you have all the details on this that you can get,one small detail could wind up being a costly mistake,about all they can do is say he was speeding,but you never know how witnesses tell there stories,often not the same way twice,,so set down and talk this over again with the lawyer before you make any drastic moves,at this point most people would say you don't have anything to loose,but you do on this one,good luck with it i hope it works out well,or i will say i hope justice prevails .

Answer 4

Any insurance company will argue that your Son is partly to blame simply because he was there, you can't argue that one because if he wasn't there, then he wouldn't have had the accident. What you do with your lawyer is your business, but it is the driver pulling out into traffic who is obliged to ensure that it is safe for him to do so, in other words, can he do it safely. It is immaterial what speed your son was going because the other driver should have taken this all into account. I do think your lawyer needs a good taking to though, if he's not behind you, then he's the enemy.

Answer 5

You have an interesting way of phrasing the fact that someone pulled out in front of your speeding son and he hit them. Maybe your lawyer could convince the court that your version is what happened but not me.

Answer 6

It is the responsibility of the car entering the roadway to yield to ALL oncoming traffic. If the car your son hit (or hit him) failed to yield, then it's the other guy's fault!

If the insurance company wants to claim that your son was speeding, it's up to them to prove it, but it's still the other guy's fault because he failed to yield the right-of-way.

Answer 7

i think of "Oh crap, I purely totaled my dad's automobile" I somewhat have had this take place. the element is, I were having hardship commencing the element. when I hit the deer, the automobile began completely for no less than 3 weeks.