A year ago my boyfriend and i were in a minor accident...he rear ended a man in a toyota siena we were going like 15 mph my boyfriend was driving a honda accord and the only damage that was done was a minor 2 inch scratch and a minor dent my boyfriends license plate frame was cracked, my boyfriends insurance company paid for a WHOLE new bumper. Now the man is now suing him for $25,000 because he is claiming injuries to his neck...even the police officer that was at the scene walked all the way around the car and had to ask the man where the accident happened ...what can we do? this guy is totally scaming him!
2007-10-24 16:47:12 · 13 answers · asked by MANDI 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
he switched insurance companies a little while ago...after he got a new car
2007-10-24 16:55:19 · update #1
He is not actually suing you he will be suing your insurance company. That is where the payout is coming from. The insurance company needs to be notified they will put their lawyers on the case as the money will be paid by them if they lose.
They will also investigate the limitation on the time this person has to file suit for an accident in your state. They should be able to poke holes in his case very easily with the amount of time it took him to file alone
ADDITION: Doesnt matter if he switched they were the insurer during that period and as long as his payments were up to date then they are still on the hook for the loss so they will defend it.
2007-10-24 16:57:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He's suing the insurance company. The guy will settle out of court with the insurance company unless the Insurance people know this guy in which case they may make him go to court.
This is a common situation. Relax, if there was no insurance company there would be no law suit.
I am surprised he isn't suing for $50,000. Most liability policies call for $50,000 physical injury coverage. The scammer usually sues for the max the company will pay.
At any rate don't sweat it. The worst part is you will probably never hear how it turns out.
Oh yeah, you will probably get a scary letter from the insurance company explaining that if the court awards more than what ever your liability coverage is you are liable. They have to do this. But again, this clown just wants what the insurance company will give him without a fight.
Did this guy get a lawyer that advertises on TV?
2007-10-25 00:05:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If he din't have liability insurance, tha is not good. They should be contacting your bf insurance company and tell your bf not to say or sign anything.
If your bf was not covered for some reason, then he may have to punt. Some folks go br because of hospital bills. They mount up and if they didn't have med insurance then the medical center charges them the full amount. for instance an operation that they charge $18,000 to someone without insurance may only be worth $2,400 to the insurance company.
That's the main problem with our health system. See Medicare and the insurance companies will only pay a certain amount. Normally they discount the charges by up to 70%.or more. If our great Congress would just make so everybody paid the same, well then you could add another 30,000,000 to the roles that could afford medical care and would not need insurance.
My friends wife had an op and he got livid and wanted to know about the charges. $25 for rubber gloves, $100 for doctor robe, $10 for needle.......
i know good people that have to go bank rupted to save what they have because of stupid stuff like that If medicaid cost for a doctor visit is $3 ( went up this year used to be$1), then our government should try and fix it so that anyone can pay a discounted price, he*ll the insurance companies collect a ton and only have a small % get sick, so why not tell the hospital to give the poor smuck off of the street without insurance the same discount. Won't happen though as that's one of the way they pick up big money.
So if your boyfriend has a new car, then what's he got to lose if he finaced it. Hopefullly he has insurance. I carry double the limit, it's a bit more, but solves headaches if something should happen, knock on wood. Tons of great answers, but wanted to throw this in just in case. Take care. Judge RJ
2007-10-25 17:02:59 · answer #3 · answered by R J 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Obviously the guy your bf hit, is over zealous. He thinks he can get a payoff by saying he has a neck injury.... that's just not how it works.
Whiplash cannot be proven or disproven, and is not considered a neck injury...rather pain and discomfort. Most states have a limitation for whiplash awards...in FL it is $5000. For him to be able to win a lawsuit for the kind of money, his doctor has to provide an x-ray showing a neck injury.... a fracture, torn ligament, etc.
An award in a lawsuit for this, would consist of medical bills, pain and suffering, and any lasting medical problems.....ie. disability.
As the other posters stated....you have insurance, and so did he. What happens is the guy will basically fight the insurance companies for a settlement....they have great lawyers so chances are that's as far as it gets. If he wins by chance...then anything that is not covered by your insurance and his (personal injury protection), he can then sue you for personally for the remaining amount.
2007-10-25 00:05:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Turn this into your boyfriends insurance, his liability should cover this, if the guy signed a waiver from the insurance company they will have a record of it and he will be out of luck.
Edit:
Since he changed insurance companies he can still turn it in to the old company, they were the insurer at the time and they still would have a liability release if one was obtained and still responsible .
2007-10-24 23:58:09 · answer #5 · answered by justgetitright 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have your boyfriend's insurance company handle it. Your boyfriend pays the policy for both damage to the cars and physical injury.
If it goes to court point out that it is the insurance company's responsibility, not your boyfiend's.
2007-10-24 23:54:45 · answer #6 · answered by Kevin k 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Contact your boyfriends insurance again. Did he have medical coverage? If he did the insurance should handle this for you. If not I guess you'll have to go to court, make sure you subpoena the cop and any witnesses. Does he have medical records? You're right this sounds like a scam.
2007-10-24 23:54:17 · answer #7 · answered by Cinner 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
his old insurance company is responsible - they were covering him at the time of the accident.
I am sure 25K is exactly the minimum amount of required insurance in your state :)
He is not going to lose everything if he just uses common sense long enough to make one phone call.
But if he can't rustle that up, at least he will still have you :)
2007-10-24 23:58:23 · answer #8 · answered by Barry C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try to go around where your accident and see if there could of been any possible witnesses, if you can get them, then that'll be some proof. You can also talk to the cop that was at the scene and talk to him.
2007-10-24 23:51:52 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
GO TALK TO A LAWYER ! NOW !
You can usually get an initial consultation for free, but you don't want to take on this guy alone, if he has a lawyer you are screwed.. got it ?
2007-10-24 23:57:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋