My 20 Year Old Son is Being Sued

Jeff Higgins · 08-16-2008, 09:30 AM

My son Chris wrecked his '79 SC this last April. Nothing major, and it was easily repaired. He spun out on some ice on I-405 and snagged the rear rail of a boat trailer with his headlight bucket, peeling his front fender back. The truck pulling the trailer never even swerved or lost control, and simply pulled to the shoulder. The trailer was damaged enough (the rail was bent), and the boat was sitting crooked enough on it, to where it had to be left behind when the guy left. The State Patrolman's accident report lists "no injuries". He was out of the truck chewing Chris out, and walking all around the trailer looking for damage. There was no damage to the truck at all.

Turns out the guy was rear ended in a seperate accident, by some one else, about a month after that. He is now suing Chris and the other guy for "personal injury and emotional trauma". Chris got served a summons this morning.

I'm at a loss as to where to start, other than by finding a lawyer. This seems like a rather frivilous suit to me, to say the least. Any advice?

BlueSideUp · 08-16-2008, 09:35 AM

So your son has been served or has he just received a letter saying this guy is "going" to sue him?

Jeff Higgins · 08-16-2008, 09:43 AM

He has been served.

BlueSideUp · 08-16-2008, 09:50 AM

Hmm, so it's taken a year for him to act on his emotional trauma. Interesting. If there are any witnesses to the incident then obviously their statements as to his behavior after the accident would be good to put together.

BTW- I'm not a lawyer

island911 · 08-16-2008, 10:13 AM

Don't sweat it, Jeff. Chris' insurance will have a lawyer...

Most likely, what happened was the guy (who was hit twice) found a lawyer for the Second accident, and the lawyer is bundling his eh-hmm, services.

island911 · 08-16-2008, 10:19 AM

I'll add, it seems stupid for the lawyer to even mention the trailer hit as it gives the second guy a chance to claim that the first accident was the one that caused harm. ...but then again some lawyers Make a living making confusion

If you have pictures. that should help sort this out.

pwd72s · 08-16-2008, 10:23 AM

Good advice from Island...contact the insurance company, use their lawyer...

svandamme · svandamme's Garage

so this guy is sueing 2 people, from 2 accidents, in one suit? or 2 seperate suits?

David · David's Garage

Reminds me a story from college:

My roommate's girlfriend was sued over a traffic accident.

I'll admit his girlfriend was a crappy driver (one time I was riding with her when she flipped her car,) but it was a frivilous suit.

Even though she was the defendant, the judge found in her favor and awarded her money!

daepp · 08-16-2008, 10:37 AM

Lawyer up! And do not assume that the insurance company lawyer will always have your son's best interests at heart. They may wish to settle - and even if your son is not at fault, your son could end up with a judgment on his record.

I faced a very similar situation (nuisance suit), but when I learned I would have a judgment on my record - even tho it shows as a paid judgment, I hired my own lawyer. The case was dropped real fast when the PI lawyer saw us enter with one good atty for the insurance co and mine from a good firm in town.

island911 · 08-16-2008, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daepp

... They may wish to settle - and even if your son is not at fault, your son could end up with a judgment on his record. ...

so if it settles out of court then how is a" judgment" applied? ...it seems that a "judgment" would be a court decision. (?)

Jeff Higgins · 08-16-2008, 10:57 AM

Update: Chris was confused concerning the other accident when he phoned me; it happened in May 2005 - three years before Chris hit his trailer.

I called our insurance carrier, not really expecting to do anything other than leave a voicemail on a Saturday. To my surprise, a live person answered. She explained the whole thing to me, and really went a long ways to putting my mind at ease.

The claim is closed. Chris was at fault, by the way. The other party never made any attempt to contact our insurance. Our insurance has a record of six voice mails and one letter sent in an attempt to contact him. Chris actually opened the claim himself, giving our insurance all of the information he got from the other party when they exchanged licenses and insurance information. They did all of this, by the way, in the presence of the State Patrol officer who responded to the scene (there were about half a dozen cars scattered across the freeway, with at least one on its roof in the median. Neither Chris nor the truck/boat trailer collided with any of the others; they were already there).

The insurance agent tells me exactly what island said above - it's common practice for lawyers to "bundle" on a claim like this. She told me that they (the insurance company) has a whole department for "attorney represented claims" that will handle this. She suggested Chris just run the whole folder down to them on Monday, drop it off and forget about it. They will let us know if they need anything, like a statement from Chris, or an interview with the attorney, or whatever.

Anyway, it looks like it may not be as big of a deal as I had at first thought. One hell of a way for a 20 year old to start his Saturday morning, though. And me, pulling weekend support duty (basically twittling my thumbs and waiting for a panicked phone call from an overseas AOG crew), so I have to be at the office. Wish I could have been there to make him feel better. So, thanks for the replies. The panic has subsided.

ramonesfreak · ramonesfreak's Garage

- there is no judgment on your record if you settle
- your son's insurance has a duty to defend him, per the insurance policy

- in NY or elsewhere, i have never heard of a plaintiff suing two separate defendants, for two separate and distinct accidents using one summons/complaint. never

Jims5543 · 08-16-2008, 04:12 PM

Hopefull yit goes away Jeff, I hope your insurance company is right.

m21sniper · 08-16-2008, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

My son Chris wrecked his '79 SC this last April. Nothing major, and it was easily repaired. He spun out on some ice on I-405 and snagged the rear rail of a boat trailer with his headlight bucket, peeling his front fender back. The truck pulling the trailer never even swerved or lost control, and simply pulled to the shoulder. The trailer was damaged enough (the rail was bent), and the boat was sitting crooked enough on it, to where it had to be left behind when the guy left. The State Patrolman's accident report lists "no injuries". He was out of the truck chewing Chris out, and walking all around the trailer looking for damage. There was no damage to the truck at all.

Turns out the guy was rear ended in a seperate accident, by some one else, about a month after that. He is now suing Chris and the other guy for "personal injury and emotional trauma". Chris got served a summons this morning.

I'm at a loss as to where to start, other than by finding a lawyer. This seems like a rather frivilous suit to me, to say the least. Any advice?

Don't even bother fighting it. Your kid hit him. If the guy goes to Physical therapy his case is a total slam dunk.

Sapporo Guy · 08-16-2008, 06:06 PM

I hate cases like this.
why didn't the guy just sue from the start?

frivolous, frivolous!

Something like this would be held back in Japan and the payment to the victim would be hardly worth bothering about, even if the guy went to the hospital everyday for 3 months he would barely get $2k.

Looks like the system really needs to be redone, like the patent system!

Jeff Higgins · 08-16-2008, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m21sniper

Don't even bother fighting it. Your kid hit him. If the guy goes to Physical therapy his case is a total slam dunk.

You must have missed my last post. Our insurance company, whose queries this other party has steadfastly ignored, is taking it over. The insurance representative explained that here in Washington, he legally has to pursue any claims arising from this accident through them. They are our legal representation. If they choose to fight, that is, of course, entirely up to them. I hope they do, as I see this for the sham it is. Chris hit a boat trailer. The impact in no way even altered the course of the pickup truck. It would be interesting to learn the nature of the injuries he is claiming from this. I suspect the majority of the effort will go into the rear end collision he suffered three years ago; there is a far greater likelihood of injury from that. We'll see. I'll probably never be privy to that information, however, if it all unfolds like the agent said it would today.

Yes, my kid hit him. My kid called the insurance company immediately upon arriving home and started the claim, giving them the other party's information. He did the adult, responsible thing.