my friend was in an intersection and there was no stop sign. nothing. he was doing around 35. another lady came through and she hit him. neither thought they had a stop sign. neighbors reported in report they called city 3 days prior. now he fouind out his insurance payment wasnt paid. he went and paid it. now she is suing him. the sign was in bushes over a 3 ft. wall and nobody could see it. now they say its his fault. i say its the city's.
2007-07-27 16:56:14 · 6 answers · asked by linda_lue78 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
There is negligence on all 3 parties, your friend, the woman, and the city. At this point it is an uncontrolled intersection, and whoever gets to the i/s first has right of way....additionally, cars already in the intersection have right of way over approaching cars. If the city was aware of the sign and failed to reasonably respond to he notice, they are on the hook as well.
2007-07-27 17:31:53 · answer #1 · answered by bundysmom 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fordman's suggestion about taking pictures is an excellent idea. In addition you mention that the neighbors said it was reported three days prior that the sign was down. This is a good thing because that would put the city on notice that there is a problem. I strongly suggest that someone should call the city to confirm if they had a report of the fact that the sign was down. With pictures in hand and the fact that the city was on notice the loss would be looked at a bit differently. I am not saying that your friend may not be held liable. California is a pure comparative negligence state which means that an at fault party can be held responsible for the percentage of the loss that they are deemed responsible for. Factors which can determine fault in an uncontrolled intersection accident are things like who entered the intersection first and points of impact on the vehicles. A court of law could find comparative negligence on both parties and the city could also be found partially or totally at fault for failing to replace the sign in a timely manner.
2007-07-28 00:41:53 · answer #2 · answered by tbirdman4ever 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, it is now illegal to drive in California without insurance. He is screwed since he will likely have to hire a lawyer to defend himself or settle.
Second, if it was an uncontrolled intersection, you are suppose to stop before proceeding. If the stop sign was missing, there is usually painted on the ground the stop indication or there is a stop sign across the steet. If that is there, he is at fault. Even with the missing sign, he is likely going to loose the case because 1] no insurance and 2] he did have the stop sign. However, he can in turn try and go sue the city for not maintaining the stop sign.
2007-07-28 02:29:32 · answer #3 · answered by carguy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When you have an intersection, and neither road has a stop sign, for anyone to go flying through that intersection without stopping, that is totally reckless & you both should have been killed. Since both survived, the police should be very harsh on both, the woman and your friend.
It is up to the police to determine whose fault the accident was.
If you fail to pay your insurance, then you are driving without insurance. If you then pay your insurance, it is not retroactive to the time you should have paid it, it is only good from the date it gets paid. So in this case, your friend was driving as an uninsured motorist. Police can put you in jail for that.
Had the insurance been paid up, your friend's insurance company lawyers would have dealt with the woman's insurance company and settled.
Since your friend was driving without insurance, he has to pay whatever the woman wants, like a million dollars, or he has to get a lawyer to fight it, which will cost many thousands of dollars in addition to what the woman wants, if he loses the case.
2007-07-28 00:48:46 · answer #4 · answered by Al Mac Wheel 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
So was his insurance cancelled during this time or did he just miss a payment? If his insurance lapsed, he needs to get a lawyer and brace himself for the oncoming court battles.
If he did have insurance and was just late on a payment, then he needs to contact them immediately. They will help represent him in court and will probably try to counter sue the other driver and the city for damages.
2007-07-28 11:39:16 · answer #5 · answered by Nate W 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I say that you need pictures of where the sign was when the accident happened. Judges are some time really strict. So have something to show him if it goes to court. Good luck.
2007-07-28 00:02:02 · answer #6 · answered by Fordman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋