Comments on: Help! Being sued for auto accident and my liability was too low. What can happen?

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:02:55 +0000

The same thing happened to me, and the suit was for 500000.

They settled for the 25000 (amount of coverage) they just wanted some spending money

By: mY tWo CeNtS wOrTh

mY tWo CeNtS wOrTh — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:41:28 +0000

they can sue you for whatever assets you have… if you don’t have any and your over the age limit they cant get a damn thing from you my boyfriend had a d.u.i and it only cover 5,000 of the 40,000 dollar car he hit and they sent letters in the mail saying if he didn’t pay the remainder that they where gonna sue him well he never paid it i mean after all he was paying 400 a month for full coverage and yet there was a clause or something well he didn’t own nothing but a new truck and he had the named transferred over to a friend for the time being so he had no assets in his name and there is only so many years they have to file its been 4 now and yet no court nothing but every state has different laws wish the best of luck getting through this…. thats a lot of money to be paying for something thats not really your fault i’d wait on selling your house because that would mean a lager amount of money in your account thats easier to take than your actual home.. and granished wages? they dont usually do that useless you go to court and they win and you have an aggrement to pay such amount everymonth for however long and you fail to pay them.. they have to take you back to court even if u dont show up to that hearing…. than the judge will but a granish on your wage (which really ***** theres no changing it after its been placed) and the can take a certain percent out of your check.. my brother went from 900 every two weeks and makes a lil over 4 now untill the amount is paid off

By: ke su

ke su — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:11:33 +0000

I believe they can only su e you for actuall damages.
They have to show proof of that amount as in repair receipts.
If there were no injuries then there are no medical fees.
A;so when you call into insurance companies they usually record those calls for this very reason that later someone cant change their story.
Let the insurance company provide th attorney for now.They will probably get rid of the case, especially if they think you have NO money amd they cant get anything.

By: fire4511

fire4511 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:27:33 +0000

The first rule of lawsuits is ask for the moon, and settle for less. Your insurance company will provide a lawyer to fight the suit. If the case goes to trial, and if the judgment is higher than $25,000, you can be held liable for the difference. Depending on your income, and the amount of the judgment, you may end up with your wages attached, or you may end up filing bankruptcy.

Right now, relax and let the insurance company handle it. In a case with no or minor injuries, and minor damage, it most likely will be settled within your policy limits!

You can sell your home.

By: jt

jt — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:21:46 +0000

went through this a couple of years ago. They blamed me for the accident, the insurance co.’s attorney was representing me, and the other driver waited up to two days before the statute of limitations was up to file for major jury trial and $$$. Claimed extensive back injuries, etc., but waited almost 2 years to see the doctor.

1. don’t sign anything the insurance company gives you without an attorney of your own to check it out

2. If this person was not seriously injured, then they’re looking for a settlement-keep in touch with the insurance co.

3. the insurance co. will fight this lawsuit hard because like you they want to keep their money

Good luck, and don’t sweat it-this is a long process and can drive you nuts if you let it

By: Cosmo

Cosmo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:51:28 +0000

Different questions here:

First, relax. This is cause for concern but don’t get too stressed out about it. You are in for a long, drawn out situation here. A situation that may require some adjustments, but is nothing that is going to end your life as you know it today. It’s not worth getting sick over.

I don’t think I would get another lawyer. The insurance company is responsible for the first $25,000.00. Trust me, they don’t want to pay for the first $25K, no more than you want to pay for anything over that. Understand one thing though. This attorney is the Insurance companies and not yours. In this case, what benefits you, will also benefits your insurance company.

As you are now aware, you may have been underinsured. This day in age, most homeowners have more coverage than that. Before these people can collect any money, they first must show you were at fault (or at least partially). It sounds like you have a problem here. If you can show they were 25% at fault, which would reduce any judgment by that same amount. The second thing they are going to have to prove is that they suffered that much damage. By the sound of things, this is going to be tough. Having said that, if they can show a permeate injury of any kind, it don’t take long to add up to 100K.

As far as the sell of you house, if you had your house for sale, prior to being served, and you have little equity in the home, sell. If you had intentions of buying another home, then defiantly sell. What you want to be careful of is what would be deemed as a fraudulent conveyance. IN
In other words, make no attempt to transfer title to assets without just compensation. Don’t sell your 25K Corvette to your Father for one dollar. Be above board in your dealings. This could take three years or more to play out. Live your life, but don’t spend this time attempting to hide assets. One word of caution, if it is your intention to sell your home and buy another one, financing, w/this over your head will probably be a problem. Make sure you have financing for your new home in place BEFORE you sell. You may find out you have to put this sell off for awhile.

These people are likely looking to settle out of court and that would be your insurance companies’ preference also. It is more likely than not the insurance company will cut these people a check for 15K, sometime in 2008 or 9. Worst case? They get a judgment for $75,000.00, the insurance company pays their $25K and you and your wife have to file bankruptcy.

May not be what you want to hear, but, do occurs (Sh__ Happens)
Good luck!

By: Jason I

Jason I — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:40:48 +0000

Look in the phone book under lawers that offer free phone consultation.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:41:31 +0000

Here’s a great 20/20 hindsight lesson. Liability is insurance you carry that pays for damages you cause to other people. All states have minimum amounts you can carry – for instance, your $25,000 limit is probably the minimum you can legally carry in your state. However, for a few bucks more on your insurance premiums, you can up that coverage to $50, $75, $100 thousand dollars or more. Then, when you get sued, you have the coverage.

Your insurance company will be sending a lawyer to protect their $25,000. In other words, their lawyer is interested in seeing to it that they don’t have to pay out on your policy – but if you lose – they understand all they have to pay is the $25 grand.

There’s good and bad here – if the insurance company lawyer wins, that means he kept the damages below $25,000 and the insurance company will be paying out any damage award. If the insurance company lawyer loses, they have to pay at least $25,000 and you would be personally liable for anything over that.

So, yes, get a lawyer. However, remember this – the $100000 that they’re suing for is for an accident with no injuries at a low speed. Unless you did a huge amount of damage (more than $25,000 worth) you can’t lose anyway.

By: iansand9876

iansand9876 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:24:13 +0000

I cannot speak for wherever you are (for questions like this locality makes a HUGE difference), but in Australia the various levels of court have different maximum monetary limits on theei jurisdiction . Where no specific amount is claimed the usual practice is to claim up to the limit of jurisdiction, even if there is no chance at all of being awarded that amount.

So – there MAY be no need to panic. On the other hand, you may have a problem depending on local circumstances.

By: ?this

?this — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:43:00 +0000

100,000 dollars yeah you might need to get your own lawyer.some thing not right with this .but don’t really no your cast .if no one was hurt what in the hell someone would sue for that much money it not right .don’t think they can get that much if someone was hurt.but go on and sell your home it have nothing to do with this.and good luck