I was involved in an accident 6 months ago.
Its multi car collision and damages were very less (only bumpers)
4 cars involved (incl mine),I was at the end.
This happened because the first car put a sudden break there by causing everyone behind to put sudden breaks. I tried my best but rearended to lady's car.
Trust me she had only scratches on her rear bumper I couldnt find a noticeable dent (or may be there, but I didnt notice). She was fine, walking to her friends, cheering everybody on the site.
Cop gave me a ticket saying I was at fault. I asked why? I didnt caused it by myself. But he said since I rearended, the way law is written, no matter what others in front of u do, u r at fault.
Well..lady later claimed Bodily injury and her attorney sent me a letter saying, they "were not able to ascertain my insurance coverage" and If I dont call their office to provide insu. coverage they will sue me in 10 days.
I am with Geico. Will I be sued a lot? I have Body Inj cov of 10K.
The claims adjustor said they will try to settle within my limits.
But the other party decides to sue me, does anyone know how much on an average the settlement will be in court?
Any previous knowledge?
I am just trying to get an estimate of in general how much will be claimed.
In my case, adjustor said they just claimed whiplash to neck (does it mean, back too??)
I am just clueless on if I will have to put some money from my pocket.
Answer by Maryn Bittner
Back and neck injury and pain is a tough call. Often genuine pain shows nothing abnormal on examination, x-ray, etc. So how can your insurance company prove the lady's pain isn't real? The odds are, they can't. Will she be satisfied with your coverage? Who knows?
The law as written is that the person who rear-ends another is, by definition, following too close, unless his vehicle was propelled into another vehicle by being hit from behind. The backmost person usually gets all the blame. You see, people are allowed to brake suddenly. Everyone else managed to stop in time except you, and the fact that you did not or could not makes you liable.
Answer by Coastcowboy
Just let your adjuster know about the letter and fax them a copy if they ask for it. Then forget it. There is NO way this hag is going to get your policy limits from GEICO. Trust me, they have dozens of lawyers on their side and will go to war with that scumbag lawyer if need be. This is a good lesson as to why your limits need to be RAISED! What if she were really injuried, say with a broken neck? Your limits would have been maxed out in one day and the lawyer would have your home and all your assets for the next ten years to come.
Insurance doesn't cost...it PAYS.
Answer by forktail_devil
u probably got cited for 'assured clear distance'...a typical ticket u'd get in ohio for a rear-ender. but it wouldnt stop there. in ohio, the 1 that caused this wreck because of slamming on their brakes could also get cited. especially if the reason was to 'brake check' some tailgater. that wont fly in ohio.
now as far as her claim goes, maybe if u get eyewitnesses to testify to the fact that they saw her doing the above, she wont get zip. tell the insurance that u wont pay for nothing but the cost of any car repairs. if it goes to court, she will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt of her claim. if she cant, she wont get zip. but i would also launch a countersuit to make the trollop pay my attorney's fees if she loses.
Answer by james_spader_jr
You are at fault in the incident...there really isn't nothing you can do about the claim. If you rearend the car then unless you have a good lawyer or the police screwed up somehow you probably are stuck with the claim. For whiplash I think the settlements are pretty small like in the 3-5k dollar range plus whatever medical bills the woman ammased while in the hospital. Ask the insurance company what the reserve on the injury is.....Whenever someone is hurt depending on how bad they are hurt the insurance company sets "reserves" or reserve amounts on how much a case should cost. Just like when you go to get your car fixed and they tell you how much it should cost. Just the fact that it's litigated alone will bring the amount up because of lawyer fees. Whiplash is one of those sorts of things that ambulance chasers are all over, and I doubt that they are going to try to sue the insurance company for any more than your coverage for the simple fact that they know the insurance company will pay and you....may not. If I ever got stuck with a B.S. claim like that I would probably pull a big F.U. and declare bankruptcy....I wouldn't worry about it too much, whiplash is almost impossible to prove/disprove because the lawyer will coach the lady and send her to the doctor that he wants her to go to anyway. It's just another way to grab a check and screw the system..sadly enough it's douchebags like this that make our insurance rates go sky high.
Answer by Shel
Well she obviously rear ended someone then herself, right?? Find out who that was and have them sue her. Your insurance company will settle the claim, but if you were rear ended sue the person who hit you. If she was the only one hurt out of that mess be sure to bring that up. If have her address maybe some recon is in order. Watch her at home to see if her injuries fit the claim. If she's faking tell your insurance company and they'll take care of it. Pictures say more then words ever could.
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