QUESTION
What can I do if I am being sued for an accident that I couldn't help?
Asked on Aug 31st, 2011 on Personal Injury - Colorado
More details to this question:
It's almost 10 at night and it is raining outside. I'm driving down a steep hill and there are two cars in front of me. The one in front slams on his brakes so the car in front of me hit his brakes. He barely stops before he hits the car in the very front. I hit my brakes all 4 wheels locked up and I started sliding right into the rear end of the car in front of me. The driver was a big over 300 pound guy with the seat reclined all the way back. I had no insurance at the time and my car took all the damage but yet I'm getting sued for $16,200.00. What do I do!? I've requested all known pictures and reports and also all documents so I'm waiting on all that to come in the mail. Other then that I don't know what to do.
14 ANSWERS
Business Attorney serving North Andover, MA
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Law Offices of Andrew D. Myers
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What does the driver being a "big over 300 pound guy" have to do with the liability analysis in arriving at fault for the accident? The rules of the road require that all motor vehicle operators (1) maintain a safe following distance, (2) operate in control at all times (3) keep a lookout and (4) drive safely under the circumstances. The fact that it was raining and the road surface was more slippery than usual is a circumstance requiring that extra safety precautions, i.e. increasing following distance, be employed. The "stopped short" defense is rarely if ever successful, in view of the above 4 rules of the road. You are liable. Your insurance would defend you and pay up to the policy limit. However, you opted not to have insurance. Therefore, you should take the money that you saved by not having insurance and hire an attorney to defend you and think of a way to minimize your liability exposure. I wish you the best.
Answered on Sep 07th, 2011 at 12:49 PM
Alternate Dispute Resolution Attorney serving Edmond, OK
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Woska Law Firm, PLLC
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Hire a plaintiff contingent fee lawyer first and then let the attorney go through the evidence and ask questions. Once this has been done the lawyer should be able to very clearly answer your question.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 5:11 PM
Automobile Accidents Attorney serving Newport Beach, CA
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Tomalas Law Firm
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You should turn this matter over to your automobile liability insurance company. They are obligated to protect you - they will provide legal counsel to you and will pay any damages (up to the limit of liability coverage you carry) that are attributed to you.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 11:27 AM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Austin, TX
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Law Offices of Earl K. Straight
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Youve got two options. You either fight the case all the way to trial and take the chance of a verdict against you, or you try to negotiate a settlement. You can try to handle the case yourself, but if you go to trial without an attorney youre going to be at a huge disadvantage if the other party has counsel.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 11:04 AM
Plaintiff Animal Bites Attorney serving Missoula, MT
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Bulman Law Associates PLLC
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You are learning the very expensive lesson for what happens to people who drive without insurance. You failed to maintain proper distance and therefore are the most responsible for the collision. At this point, you will be representing yourself. Never fail to answer any court related document you are served or receive in the mail. You can slow the process down. They may give up after they settle the UM coverage your victim has.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 11:03 AM
Employment Law Attorney serving Beverly Hills, CA
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Dordick Law Corporation
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Its unfortunate that this happened and even more so that you did not have insurance. The law requires that you keep a safe distance from the car in front of you under the conditions that exist at the time. Obviously, you did not do that and you will likely be held liable. If the person you hit has uninsured motorist coverage, they will pay more most or all if his damages, but then the insurance company can come after you for whatever they paid out (this is called subrogation). Oftentimes they will negotiate a settlement with you, hopefully for less than $16,000.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 10:32 AM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
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Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
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You need a lawyer to sue the other 2 drivers and get their insurance carriers involved. Unfortunately, the law requires you to keep a good and proper lookout and keep your vehicle under control at all times even when idiots in front of you misbehave. You will likely lose the case for that reason.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 10:01 AM
You should retain a defendant's accident attorney to represent you.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 9:53 AM
Personal Injury including Litigation Attorney serving Wilmington, DE
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Ramunno & Ramunno, P.A.
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Hope that the parties realize you have no funds even for insurance and decide to get the matter resolved by using collusion coverage or uninsured motorist coverage.Otherwise, you need todefendany lawsuit or hire anattorneyto help you.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 9:48 AM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY
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Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
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Defending a lawsuit is a serious business and cannot be done effectively by posting messages on a website. You need to talk to an experienced defense attorney in your area. You may not have thousands of dollars to pay for full representation, but if you can scrape up a few hundred, you might be able to get office consultations that can give you more help than you can get here.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 9:43 AM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Montrose, NY
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Law Office of Jared Altman
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Your mistake was not having insurance. That's a criminal offense and fiscally unwise as you are now finding out. You will have to defend yourself. If you can afford one, then hire a lawyer. Otherwise, you made the bed and now you'll have to lie in it.
Answered on Sep 02nd, 2011 at 5:29 AM
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Unfortunately, you should hire an attorney to defend you, preferably someone familiar with auto accident law. If you had been insured at the time, your insurance company would have hired an attorney on your behalf.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 8:43 PM
Workers Compensation Attorney serving West Palm Beach, FL
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You are responsible and since you did not have insurance you will have to pay. The question is how much. If you don't have many assets and not much to get I doubt they will pursue the claim very hard. You maybe able to negotiate a better deal or see if they really file a lawsuit against you.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 8:41 PM
Criminal Law Attorney serving Centennial, CO
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Law Office of Mark P. Miller
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You may need to look into hiring an expert "Accident Reconstructionist", although since you didn't have insurance you might not be able to pay there fee which could be another couple of thousand dollars. You probably need to talk to a criminal defense attorney. They may be willing to charge you hourly just for their time to tell you what to do, since you might not be able to afford their retainer. Unfortunately, there probably isn't a cheap/inexpensive answer to your question.
Answered on Sep 01st, 2011 at 8:38 PM