Being sued for accident I didn't cause - Please Help

[Zigner]

Anyone driving and paying attention slows down, or veers slightly to make room for them. But in this instance, the Mercedes came full speed and smashed into me like a freight train, just when I got far enough to see what was coming.

In that large volume of text that was originally posted, this seems to have been missed.
You sent this to your insurance company shortly after the accident occurred. What you are saying here is that the other driver was driving at the speed limit (full speed) and you pulled in front of him. You can't speak to his speed because you never even saw him prior to the accident.

 

[army judge]

Anyone driving and paying attention slows down, or veers slightly to make room for them. But in this instance, the Mercedes came full speed and smashed into me like a freight train, just when I got far enough to see what was coming.

This is why people should ONLY discuss the details of any event with the potential to cause them legal repercussions with an attorney.

What you posted does NOTHING to exculpate you, however, it does an excellent job of inculpating you!

 

[mightymoose]

You need to find out when the lawsuit was filed with the court. It does not matter when the claim was made with insurance.
Had the lawsuit been filed in time for a personal injury claim you should have been served months ago. Something seems amiss and needs to be looked into.
It sounds like insurance is more focused on negotiating how much you should pay rather than defending you. Ask them about the statute of limitations and compare with what you get from your own attorney.

Take the papers you received to a local attorney. Forget phone calls. You are harder to ignore when you are standing right there.

 

[Hawk99]

That's terrifying. Please stop driving.

Please. I was never in an accident before this. I was inching out like a snail and got blasted by someone who was speeding. Regardless of who's fault it was legally, the other driver is FAR more dangerous on the road than me. Thankfully nobody got hurt. I'm only interested in serious advice from people who have time to share a little, but thank you. I'll try to be perfect like you from now on.

 

[Hawk99]

If the lawsuit resulted from a driving misadventure, you are required to IMMEDIATELY inform your insurer.

Once you've told your insurer, further instructions will come from your insurer's legal beagles.

From this point forward what you should refrain from doing is discussing any aspect of the alleged incident with anyone but your insurer or your insurer's lawyers.

Thank you. I DID notify my insurer right away, but there was confusion, because I missed that they made this final determination. Other than that I've been on top of communications regarding the incident and trying to take all of the appropriate required action.

 

[Hawk99]

Are you being sued for personal injuries, or for damage to a vehicle?
I believe personal injury claims must be filed within two years. You are beyond two years, so you may be able to argue the statute of limitations as a defense and have the matter dismissed.

If you are being sued for damage to the vehicle I believe that has a 3 year limit. You did not indicate which month in 2016 this occurred, but again, you may be outside the limit.

You need to determine exactly what damages you are being sued for. I encourage you to seek the advice of personal counsel. The auto insurance attorney is NOT your attorney.

An initial meeting can be very inexpensive or even free.

Looking at the papers I was served (summons from Superior Court of CA), I don't find any language about personal injuries. Only mention of property damage.

The accident occurred 3/6/16 and it appears that the case was filed on 3/1/19, so that may be why I don't see any mention of personal injury.

I will follow your advise and try to find a good firm near by to review my case.

Thank you very much.

 

[Hawk99]

In that large volume of text that was originally posted, this seems to have been missed.
You sent this to your insurance company shortly after the accident occurred. What you are saying here is that the other driver was driving at the speed limit (full speed) and you pulled in front of him. You can't speak to his speed because you never even saw him prior to the accident.

I can speak to his speed based on how hard I was hit and where my car landed. I pull out of this alleyway every day for over six years. Sometimes it's hard to see, but I can still avoid getting hit. People are often driving like animals in this neighborhood and it's a frequent complaint of everyone who lives here. I maintain that this could have, and likely would have, happened to any responsible driver in my position, but I appreciate your point.

 

[Hawk99]

This is why people should ONLY discuss the details of any event with the potential to cause them legal repercussions with an attorney.

What you posted does NOTHING to exculpate you, however, it does an excellent job of inculpating you!

This is true, but I'm not looking to be exculpated by asking questions here. Just trying to see what my options are, as I've never been in this situation. I think I've got what I needed and I appreciate all of the feedback.

 

[Hawk99]

You need to find out when the lawsuit was filed with the court. It does not matter when the claim was made with insurance.
Had the lawsuit been filed in time for a personal injury claim you should have been served months ago. Something seems amiss and needs to be looked into.
It sounds like insurance is more focused on negotiating how much you should pay rather than defending you. Ask them about the statute of limitations and compare with what you get from your own attorney.

Take the papers you received to a local attorney. Forget phone calls. You are harder to ignore when you are standing right there.

Thank you so much mightymoose (and cool name btw). You've been very helpful.

As I mentioned in an earlier reply, the claim appears to have been filed with he court just a few days short of three years after the incident. I will get clarity on the statute of limitations, exact damages, and try a walk-in at a local firm. I will also make it clear that I have no way to pay anything for the next few years, unless my financial situation changes radically, and reiterate that to my insurance rep as well.

I appreciate you explaining the -right of way- aspect to me in your previous response in a helpful nonjudgemental manner. Regardless of how this plays out, I am a very careful, sometimes overly cautious driver. I don't speed, I don't text or drive under the influence, but s*** happens. I don't feel like I should have to pay someone who DOES drive dangerously, nor do I have the ability right now, so I want to make sure every aspect of this gets examined.

One final question if you have time: is there a certain type of lawyer I should approach? Should it be a "personal injury" attorney, or something different? When I google "car accident attorney near me" I get a list of personal injury lawyers. I'm assuming that's what I need, but wasn't sure if there's a difference.

Thanks again

 

[mightymoose]

Any attorney who practices civil law should be helpful. The injury attorneys are looking for a different sort of client, but they could still help you out with a brief initial counsel.
Going forward, make sure every dollar being demanded of you is connected to some verifiable property loss. Anything injury related is out the window.
You said the other vehicle was hardly damaged. You will need to find out how this all added up to so much.

 

[Zigner]

Please. I was never in an accident before this. I was inching out like a snail and got blasted by someone who was speeding. Regardless of who's fault it was legally, the other driver is FAR more dangerous on the road than me. Thankfully nobody got hurt. I'm only interested in serious advice from people who have time to share a little, but thank you. I'll try to be perfect like you from now on.

From your description in this thread, it sounds to me like you pulled out in front of oncoming traffic. You never saw the driver, so you can't (except on personal, biased supposition) show that the other driver was speeding. Furthermore, from your own description of the matter, the other driver was doing the speed limit.

 

[Highwayman]

TL;DR

 

[Hawk99]

Any attorney who practices civil law should be helpful. The injury attorneys are looking for a different sort of client, but they could still help you out with a brief initial counsel.
Going forward, make sure every dollar being demanded of you is connected to some verifiable property loss. Anything injury related is out the window.
You said the other vehicle was hardly damaged. You will need to find out how this all added up to so much.

Excellent. Thanks again, and thanks to everyone else as well. I will absolutely recommend this forum to anyone I come across in need of quick insight.

Best

 

[mightymoose]

you can't (except on personal, biased supposition) show that the other driver was speeding.

Speed can very often be determined after the fact by accident investigators. It is done with calculations based on facts and physics. Whether the other vehicle was actually seen or not is irrelevant. Seeing the vehicle only changes perception.

Furthermore, from your own description of the matter, the other driver was doing the speed limit.

How could you reach this conclusion? Do you know what the speed limit is at that location?

 

[Zigner]

Speed can very often be determined after the fact by accident investigators. It is done with calculations based on facts and physics. Whether the other vehicle was actually seen or not is irrelevant. Seeing the vehicle only changes perception.

Huh? The OP can't say how fast the other vehicle was traveling. The OP is not an expert at accident reconstruction and the OP had no visual estimation estimation of the speed of the other vehicle. All we have is the fact that the OP didn't see the other vehicle until the accident occurred.

How could you reach this conclusion? Do you know what the speed limit is at that location?

I don't need to know the speed limit.
OP said that the other driver was going "at full speed". That's how I reached the conclusion...unless of course the OP meant that the other driver was operating the vehicle at the maximum speed possible in that vehicle (likely well over 100 mph).

 

[Hawk99]

Huh? The OP can't say how fast the other vehicle was traveling. The OP is not an expert at accident reconstruction and the OP had no visual estimation estimation of the speed of the other vehicle. All we have is the fact that the OP didn't see the other vehicle until the accident occurred.



I don't need to know the speed limit.
OP said that the other driver was going "at full speed". That's how I reached the conclusion...unless of course the OP meant that the other driver was operating the vehicle at the maximum speed possible in that vehicle (likely well over 100 mph).

By "full speed" I didn't mean the speed limit or any specific speed. Just that they were going very fast, while I was barely moving. Poorly phrased on my part perhaps.

 

[Zigner]

By "full speed" I didn't mean the speed limit or any specific speed. Just that they were going very fast, while I was barely moving. Poorly phrased on my part perhaps.

Perhaps...but that's the explanation you gave the insurance company.
Look, the simple fact is that you pulled out in front of oncoming traffic. The accident was caused by you. Nobody believes that you intentionally pulled in front of the vehicle in order to cause the collision, it was simply an accident.

 

[Hawk99]

Perhaps...but that's the explanation you gave the insurance company.
Look, the simple fact is that you pulled out in front of oncoming traffic. The accident was caused by you. Nobody believes that you intentionally pulled in front of the vehicle in order to cause the collision, it was simply an accident.

I understand your point of view and appreciate you being straight with me. From my perspective I inched ahead slowly in order to see, the way millions of responsible careful drivers do everyday without incident. If the other driver was speeding & not looking at the road, texting or whatever, I wouldn't say he is free responsibility, or that he didn't cause the accident, at least partially. We'll see where the chips land on this. I'm just not going to let this get pinned on me without careful examination, because I do believe the driver was being reckless in a residential neighborhood were many kids live.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

If the other driver was speeding & not looking at the road, texting or whatever, I wouldn't say he is free responsibility, or that he didn't cause the accident, at least partially.

But you have no way to overcome the absolute proof that exists that YOU failed to yield to oncoming as required to in your situation.

 

[flyingron]

Again, you keep putting some obligation on the driver to see you entering the roadway. That doesn't exist. It's entirely incumbent on you to not pull in front of traffic.

People creep forward after making a stop at the position mandated by statute when doing that affords them a better view without actually entering the traveled road. Driving a snail's pace blindly into oncoming traffic is not something a safe, legal, and prudent person does.