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Press Junketeer  Posts: 457 Joined: 22 Sep 2008     | |
Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 617 Joined: 22 Oct 2008     |
You'll get compensation for it but when you try to go through the legal system it seems to take even longer to get it. This was the first accident that I've had in my own personal vehicle being my fault. I have been in a couple others where I was in someones car and they were driving and it was some eles fault. |
Press Junketeer Posts: 457 Joined: 22 Sep 2008 |
I guess what I was driving at is that you may be able to just say, "No, I'm not paying you anything." At this point, they probably don't have much legal recourse if you deny them payment. Trust me, anybody in an accident severe enough to impinge upon their income enough to need to sue someone would never wait two years. I feel a bit hypocritical, since I'm suing someone and encouraging you to fight a suit, but there are times when it seems appropriate to receive compensation as a result of another's actions, and there are times when it does not. Your situation appears to be an appropriate application of a lawsuit/claim. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1686 Joined: 7 Feb 2008   | I'm still wondering how it could be your fault if you were paying attention, yet lost control of your car on a particularly difficult curve. You made it sound like it was either hitting another car, or going off the side of the road and down an incline. To me this is a clear money grabber case. Here in Canada these cases almost never happen unless insurance companies didn't pay their dues. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3714 Joined: 8 May 2008     | 2 years... wtf ? Can they even sue after soo damn long ? |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 617 Joined: 22 Oct 2008 |
Yes the statue of limitations is this year so she decided I guess to wait till now..yay!! |
BANNED  Posts: 3486 Joined: 25 Aug 2008     |
I think that it may be a better idea to look into it further rather than immediately assuming it's a ploy for money, but Amnestic has a point. It's quite possible that the victim is a money-grabbing bastard, victim or not. User was banned for: The Second Annual Escapist Election: Part 1: Presidential Primaries. (Permanent) |
Paperboy  Posts: 33 Joined: 8 Oct 2008    | I had a similar situation to this a while back. Took 3 years to finally get into court (try giving detailed answers about a night that long ago!) and the other party tried to make me out as a young reckless boy-racer with a death wish. Don't fret - this is why you get insurance! It's the insurance company's lawyer, so this must mean your insurance covers you in this respect. This is the whole reason for insurance, so the only lasting effect might be a rise in your premium until you can build up a no claims again. Seriously, don't worry about it. Your lawyer will know how to handle the situation far better than onyone on here! Good luck! |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2019 Joined: 25 Jun 2008  | Could you try suing the county or department responsible for maintaining the road? If they had don't they're job properly then the road wouldn't have been so hellish & you wouldn't have crashed. Why did your brakes lock up if you were going slow & tapping them? Could you sue the last mechanic that serviced them or Buick? Talk to the lawyer suing you & convince them that there's bigger & more profitable fish to fry. |
Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 600 Joined: 27 Apr 2008    | If you make it too expensive and difficult for them to sue you they wont bother. So set a court date I believe as there brining the action there liable for the costs! |
Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 536 Joined: 5 Mar 2008   | Ughh. Auto accidents suck. The worst thing? There is absolutely no reason to every admit it was your fault. Always find a reason to say it's the other person's fault. Why? Because nothing will happen to you. My brother drives a medium-sized truck for a living. A woman changed lanes into his rear-wheels. There were like five-ten witnesses that helped to clean up the mess and say how my brother was minding his own business in his lane. She still said it was his fault. Every time people get involved with insurance claims, everything gets clogged-up, everyone gets greedy, and the whole thing generally sucks. I wasn't going anywhere with this post. I just hate the insurance industry. Don't get me started on warranties. Anyway, good luck with the whole getting sued thing. Keep your cool, dress well, and don't swear. Everything will work out fine. |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 742 Joined: 2 Nov 2008    |
Yea today people could sue you for just about anything, if they don't like the way you look they can sue you and if they have a more expensive lawyer or play the race or victim card they have a good chance of winning. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 4350 Joined: 9 Jul 2008  | Push the crappy roads defence! Also point out your previously perfectly safe driving record which I'm sure you have, being an intelligent civilized member of the Escapist. You'll be fine. |
BANNED  Posts: 6317 Joined: 29 Nov 2007  | Be wise, be safe. EDIT: If they choose to drop the suit, and your lawyer advises you to counter sue, don't listen to him/her. Settle for no less then a drop of charges, and settle for no greater as well. User was banned for: The hypocrisy is KILLING me.. (Permanent) |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1081 Joined: 11 Sep 2008  | Sigh...i hate people who sue for compensation. I'll use the first post as an example: Assuming that its a genuine accident. It's and ACCIDENT no one is at fault short of GOD. Go sue the church for their boss giving bad weather which caused his tyres to skid when his wheels locked and caused him to hit you. Compensation should only occur when a malicious act is caused, (like someone cutting your brake lines). I'd personally have anyone applying for compensation shot in both feet for wasting my legal system's time. Greedy assholes >.> EDIT: Just so the original poster knows. Bad weather = not your fault at all. Don't take the blame for nature trying to kill you. (Anti lock brakes might be something good to invest in if you survive this) EDIT2: Just to be nasty if you succeed in proving them to be retarded then heres a phrase to make you smile...Counter Suit! For damaging your income by dragging you into court and putting you under unnecessary emotional stress which also affected your ability to work. EDIT3: just saw the above posters edit. I'll tel you it depends on how solid your defence is in the initial suit. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2064 Joined: 14 Oct 2008   | Cast as much doubt upon the other drivers skill as possible. If there are no other witnesses then its your word versus hers and it will probly be thrown out of court. My brother had a similar case recently where he was knocked off his bike. Nothing came of it as both said completely opposite things. |
On the Record  Posts: 7046 Joined: 22 Aug 2008   |
There was a film about that, I found it quite funny. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1081 Joined: 11 Sep 2008 |
YEah "The man who sued god." Billy Connelly was awesome in that ^_^ |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2633 Joined: 30 Sep 2008  |
Go to Mexico? |
On the Record  Posts: 5951 Joined: 7 Mar 2008    |
only if you want him they install windows vista and that's about it as for your situation, she'll probly claim whiplash, have your lawyer dig up the study showing whiplash only gets claimed in countries they allow it and by that i mean people will only say how sore their neck is and the symptoms of whiplash, not an actual neck injury. in the study they checked how many destruction derby drivers report whiplash injuries, they are actually 0 have them harp on the time it's taken to file the suit, 2 years is a bit long. she did not bring the suit in a timely fashion don't counter sue at the most have them ask for fees at the most if they aren't being paid for by the insurance company |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1440 Joined: 19 Jun 2008 |
Sounds like something incurred as a result of her inability to find appropriate parking for the situation/location. Anxiety attacks + heart swelling... perhaps a counter-suit? |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 617 Joined: 22 Oct 2008 |
I think your right after the accident I began to run around snuggling kittens instead of eating them...my god what happened to me???? |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2355 Joined: 14 Sep 2007  | In the future, the word 'conversation' would have vanished from the English language. It will be replaced by 'litigation'. |
Copy Clerk  Posts: 79 Joined: 22 Jul 2008    | If i were you.. i'd ask your lawyer and not the Escapists brought up on Law and Order and the Ace Attorney series... just saying. Not that i now anything really.. but if your in a no fault state, i'd say you're fine, but again.. proly a better idea to ask a lawyer... and not a gaming magazine... finally if you take anyone's advice from the forumn.. even mine.. your likely hood of getting screwed went up by ALOT. JUST SAYING |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1433 Joined: 18 Sep 2008  | You're probably only being sued because in America there are these people called lawyers see. and what the like to do is promote conflict for bullshit reasons see. and then they take 20% and get rich see. which also means you're probably screwed seeing as in this country bullshit lawsuits like "I spilled hot coffee on mah self HALP" have won millions. I'm sorry man, but your best bet is a fucking awesome lawyer that knows how to bullshit out of every orifice (though I'd rather shoot him on the spot then hire him) |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 617 Joined: 22 Oct 2008 |
Nope we are not a no fault state and my mom who works in an insurance office said it would be a lot worse on me if we were. I simply asking because I wanted to know if this has happened to anyone else and the results from it. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1120 Joined: 17 Oct 2008 |
Why not, given that this lady is sueing based on an accident that happened 2 fricken years ago she deserves to lose some cash. |
Muckraker  Posts: 311 Joined: 28 Sep 2008 |
We don't have accidents here , all our cars are stuck in the snow . |
On the Record Posts: 5951 Joined: 7 Mar 2008 |
well he wouldn't want to seem greedy, if you counter sue the courts sometimes look as you being greedy and taking up the court's time instead of just wanting the suit over with and out of the system |
Vault Legend  Posts: 2205 Joined: 30 Jul 2008    |
I would like to have this statement stricken from the record, it's misleading and unrelated to the case.
For me personally, it's having some experience in law from a couple of classes, knowing a few lawyers, and admittedly watching a lot of television. Although the only Law and Order series that could even remotely help here would be Trial by Jury, which I never really liked. Although, if you read through the previous posts, a lot of people suggest talking to their lawyer. It's actually a very common trend, which is something you seem to think we're incapable of. Frankly, I find it kind of insulting that you peg each of our words of advice as increased likelihood of screwing something up. According to what I've seen everything but "Run like hell, to Mexico." has been pretty decent advice, with exception to the obvious jokes.
Nope. Think about it for a minute, what would the counter-suit be, emotional distress? This is a thing that's very expensive to get court-proven documentation for, which requires a psychiatrist evaluation, as well as a pretty lengthy and harsh treatment on the witness stand (assuming it goes to trial). By the end of the whole thing, not to mention trawling through the red tape, you're short several hundred dollars in court fees and litigation nonsense, in which any lawyer worth their salt would probably have thrown this case out on the grounds of being as frivolous as the case that spawned it. Necro had the right idea, don't counter-sue. Although I disagree with the no-settle policy. Sometimes, it can save you a lot of money if they're willing to settle out of court for a reasonably low amount, which would save you the court costs should it fail to be thrown out. Although, that's really up to you and your lawyer, reaper. I know I give a lot of advice, but always, and I mean always, check everything through with your lawyer. They know the specifics and local laws, my advice is just general legal. Although, I do recommend you try to get this thrown out, as it seems pretty frivolous from this end. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1113 Joined: 9 Mar 2008   | I work at an American retail giant, and I once had a customer threaten to sue me and the company because the Pepsi vendor screwed up an endcap sign that said a 12 pack of soda was $.99. When she told me I called my manager over, and he proceeded to get into this huge screaming match with her about how he didn't have to sell her anything at any price because a sign wasn't a legally binding contract. Later in the parking lot after work, the woman called me over to her car and said she wouldn't sue me but might sue the company and told me to expect to be called as a witness. I said I wondered if she actually had a case. She said she was certain she did, because she's a paralegal. The next day the overnight supervisor told me the woman called corporate headquarters and threatened to sue. They told her she didn't have a case, and that if she didn't behave herself they'd ban her from shopping at any of their retail outlets. Needless to say, I was never sued or called as a witness. I know this has little to do with the topic of this thread. I hope everything works out well for you, Reaper. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2641 Joined: 2 Aug 2008  |
My god, I think it's the old lady who sued reaper_2k9. Or just that old lady crawled up his arse, and di...wait, wait, yup, she still lives there. But yeah, it has been already said. She only wants money. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1440 Joined: 19 Jun 2008 |
Hah! That sounds like mental trauma. Unfortunately I grew up with australian lawyers, so my knowledge of american law is limited. Sounds like she doesn't have a leg to stand on, but our court system is reasonably different. |
Muckraker  Posts: 349 Joined: 25 Aug 2008  | DO A BARREL ROLL! |
Copy Clerk Posts: 79 Joined: 22 Jul 2008 |
I didn't mean to be insulting, I'm just saying that while some advice may be good, going on any one person's advice on anything chances that something will go wrong will go up. The only law experience i've ever had has been being involved w/ a car crash my self, (i didn't get sued so it's not like i had any other than an occasional letter from my insurance agency saying something which seemed important about law). While the Escapists forums may be inhabited by inteligent people, and from what i've seen, they are, taking legal advice from any forum seems like a bad idea to me. Infact i was more trying to offer a calm state of mind and a more cautionary approach to the whole problem, i did not mean to insinuate anything negative about other posters. However upon rereading my post i see how one can read it that way. I'm sorry. |
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NOTE: I am actually going through a very similar situation right now
I was involved in a car accident earlier this year, but on the receiving end. One of the first things my lawyer told me was that we only had 1 year to file a claim in civil court, if I ever wanted to get any compensation for the accident. (Please note that I broke my pelvis and was unable to walk on my own for nearly two months, so I think I deserve something)
Of course, I am in California and often these laws vary from state to state or even country to country, if you live elsewhere. Due to the extreme lateness of the claim, it may not even be legal for the complainant to take your mother to court at this point. Something to think about.