Car accident and lawsuits?
On friday my husband and I were in a car accident. My 2 sisters and my 17 month old son was in the backseat. We were driving and this girl pulled out in front of us. We slammed on breaks, but still hit hard enough for our car to be totaled.
The police came and there was a witness and the girl was completely at fault.
As far as we know, the girl was uninjured.
I went to the emergency room yesterday because I am 7 months pregnant and was getting pains. Everything checked out fine with me and the baby. I am just left with some bruising. My husband and son are completely fine.
My sisters went to the emergency room last night because they were complaining about pain.
The injuries were very minor. One sister with neck and back spasms and the other with some bruising. Nothing major. They both got painkillers and muscle relaxers prescribed.
Here is my question. One of my sisters wants to sue now. She said she wants to get as much money out of this as possible.
Its also worth mentioning that both sisters were not wearing seat belts. (we assumed they were)
Would my sister sue my husbands insurance company or the girls since she was at fault. Since the injuries were minor, would she even get that much money?
If she has to sue my husbands insurance, would that make his rates go up?
I appreciate any feedback!
I know the cop called both my husbands and the girls insurance to report it. Later m’y husband contacted his and the girls insurance but they said we will have to wait till monday because of the weekend.
Personally, I don’t want to sue. As long as her insurance pays for the damage to our car I am fine with that. Before I even posted this question I told my sister it’s not worth a lawsuit and she probably wouldn’t get much. I also told her I don’t want to be involved if she in fact wants to sue. She said, that’s fine and she’ll probably just hire a lawyer and see what happens.
I agree with what a lot of people said here already. So thanks and I look forward to more responses.
Tagged with: 2 sisters • 7 months • back spasms • backseat • car accident • cop • emergency room • girls • google • insurance • insurance company • much money • painkillers • script type • seat belts • text javascript • witness
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have you filed a claim with your insurance company and the the girls insurance company?
your insurance company if you have medical payments and/or PIP should pay for your medical bills for you, baby, and your sisters. they will then go after the girls insurance for reimbursement.
it appears the girl is at fault and if the witness agrees, then all of you have a bodily injury claim against the girls insurance.
as for suing them, i dont suggest since all of you needs to wait to see if there are still more injuries; most heal w/in a few days or weeks, and some need addtl treatment. you cant ask for something in the future; ie; will need 5k more for medical treatment. does not work that way; the other company will offer a settlement when all are done treating; this could be weeks or months away.
also; dont think that if you sue, you get more; if you do sue, it could take 2 to 3 years before your case is heard.
also; since your sisters were not wearing seat belts, goes against them since if worn, could have lessen their injuries;
now the only way she can go after your husbands insurance would be if they find him to be responsible for the accident.
one other suggestion; do not settle with them until your baby is born. you want to verify no other injuries; most likely ok. most adjusters will even suggest this, which i have in the past whenever someone is pregnant. we just want to verify all is well;
if your husband is found responsible for the accident, his rates will go up for an at fault accident. if not, he might be ok;
good luck
sur she could sue but for what its worth might get her doctor bills payed most peole carry 10,000 bucks coverage an ddoctor wil get most of that an dlawyer wil get his and she might get 2000 in a year or two if she trys hard an dreally if its just some bruising an dshe does it wel one reason we paying such high payments now.. Since the injuries were minor, would she even get that much money and yes most likey it would casue his payment to go up if a claim filed on it
Tell your sister that getting in an accident is not like winning the lottery. If she was injured, she is entitled to some compensation for her injuries, but she won’t get rich from a couple of bruises. It sounds to me like a frivolous lawsuit.
If she wants to sue, she needs to call a local ambulance chasing law firm and sue the other driver, not your husband. If she goes after your husband, I would tell her flat out that your relationship is done – I would have nothing to do with someone who would sue me when they weren’t seriously injured.
Remind your sister – what goes around comes around – if she doesn’t want to get hit with a frivolous lawsuit, don’t file one against someone else.
Sorry, your sister sounds rather greedy. WAY too early to think about suing. The accident just happened, and she does not know the extent of her injuries. Instead, she can file a claim. However, let her know, just because she was injured does not necessarily mean she is entitled to any monetary compensation. The threshold requirements vary from state to state. In some states her injury must be serious. The definition of serious varies. In other states, there is a monetary threshold.
If you live in a state with PIP coverage, her medical expenses will be paid under your husband’s policy. PIP covers occupants and pays regardless of fault. Your insurance pays and then subrogates.
She can notify the other insurance company and let them know she was injured. Depending on the "joint and several" liability laws in your state, your husband’s policy may need to contribute if he contributed to her injury. Passengers are always negligent free. Not wearing a seat belt may place some comparative negligence on her, but usually the seat belt defense is limited to serious injuries.
Based on the injuries described, even if she is tort eligible, her claim is worth little. She should be happy to get the medical expenses paid. If she only treats the one time, she may get $200-$300. She certainly did not hit the lottery.
If the girl was at fault, she’ll sue her insurance and they’ll probably say if your sister was wearing a seat belt, her injuries wouldn’t be as bad.
For minor injuries, she won’t likely get that much money.
But you should have hospital and medical bills pay by the girls insurance. And you each can probably get $500 for pain and suffering. But don’t take their first offer. And since your husband and son are fine, they’ll probably get nothing. You and your 2 sisters might get $500 each as their first offer, but you can probably talk that up to $1000 or $1500. But if it’s just minor injuries, I doubt it’ll go higher than that. Normally, if they offer you $500, you can ask for $1000, then they’ll offer you $800 and you can say deal or insist on $1000. The insurance’s best interest is to settle this so a couple hundred bucks isn’t nothing to them. That’s why they jump up their offer to $800 instead of going $600 because they want to offer you an amount you’ll accept.
And I don’t think this is a lawsuit since there was no serious injuries.