got into an accident and now I am being sued

[loveless]

long story short: got into accident a while back, I had right away (going straight), other party doesn’t (making a left). Then we crashed.

We have full coverage and the other party doesn’t. In the end our insurance company paid for our car and they pursued his insurance company for money. Since it was his fault, he was not compensated at all. As far as medical goes, our attorney is still pursuing his insurance company for it.

I just got a court summon from a deputy; Form SC-100 to appear in a small claims court. The plaintiff is seeking 7500$ in damage to his cost of repair, medical expense and suffering.

Any advice for me? Unfortunately small claims court does not allow attorney to appear…

[s13gold]

have all your paperwork for the accident.
have your insurance paperwork.
bring any pix u have of the accident.
the way your story is right now..you dont have any problems but to show up.
that guys just trying to get cash and is mad cuz he had liability instead of full coverage.

[s13gold]

good luck...post back how it went.

[hello]

if it's his fault..then you should win!

if you don't win..counter sue him.

[nissanberto]

i agree with HELLO........and s13gold......you shouldnt have any worries.
hey if i got out of felony evading and engaging in a act of acceleration, then anything is possible!

[FaLKoN240]

I agree with the first 2 posters. Just have your shit ready, expect the worst, but I don't think the other dude has a case. Most car insurance incidents where fault is already been decided are pretty open and shut.

[Jung918]

Call your insurance company and tell them about the situation. Ask them if you can talk to one of their lawyers for advice.

[blackcoupe]

im pretty sure youll win this, just cause the guy was already at fault. you shouldnt have to pay someone elses inujuries if their own actions originally caused it. goodluck.

[tknbkthrsdy4anfg]

Jung 918 has it

[kdashy]

Man, I hate people who try and waste your time like this.

[240trainee]

Yea, Just because you can't bring a lawyer to small claims court, doesn't mean that you can't consult a lawyer. That is your best bet, contacting the your insurance company for starters, and explaining the situation to a lawyer.

[aznpoopy]

consult lawyer.
he won't win. don't sweat over it.

same thing happened to my girlfriend. she was hit by an idiot in a van making an illegal left turn across three lanes. and then the idiot sued her. lmao. no, he didn't win.

[ciGARRETTsRbad4u]

jung918's advice sounds pretty good.


i agree with HELLO........and s13gold......you shouldnt have any worries.
hey if i got out of felony evading and engaging in a act of acceleration, then anything is possible!


I would love to hear about this story

[bardabe]

if it's his fault..then you should win!

if you don't win..counter sue him.
what he said:bigok:

[nissanberto]

jung918's advice sounds pretty good.





I would love to hear about this story


naw i dont want to change the subject, very long story lol..


well good luck on your court date FIGHT THE SYSTEM!

[koukikat180sx]

You probably won't have a problem. Good luck! :)

[OptionZero]

Take a moment to visit the library and look up any relevant vehicle codes or regulations. Lexis-Nexis owns all if you can get a access (library should have it, even if its limited access).

If you end up going to court, pay attention to anything he says. If he tells the story, listen for discrepancies. If he contradicts himself at all, make note of it and point it out when you get a chance. If he's stupid enough to sue when he's at fault, he might end up fucking himself. If you can question him, lock him into one story and then pick it apart based on any evidence you have or anything he's said before.

Be calm and respectful. Act like a jerk, you lose any goodwill.

[g6civcx]

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/scbasics.htm#bringlawyer

Looks like the first trial is just a mediation. The real trial starts at appeal.

[thepest]

Ya Fuk That Guy. You Got This.

My Friend Was Just Ran Off A Clif A Day Ago At Red Rock. In A Convertable M3, I Guess Some Bikers Went Flyin By And Caused A Car In Front Of Them To Slam On The Brakes And The He Had To Slam On It But The Car Behind Him Didn't Stop In Time. Something Like 5 Cars Went Off. They Are Tryin To Figure Out Who Fault It Is.

Good Luck!

[Aoshi112]

Yea I'd immediately call your auto adjuster who handled your claim and see if they can be of any help besides preparing what everyone said. Hopefully you'd have a cool adjuster would be able to submit something on your behalf as well.

[Jung918]

Your insurance company is suppose to represent you. They are acutally looking out for their own, but since you are a member, they should help you out.
You can not show up with counsel for small claims in california, but you can talk to one before you go.
There are acouple of web sites that break it down in more detail.
I am in the process of taking someone to small claims. It is really not that difficult. I file my papers on-line. Pay someone to give the defendent the papers. Then just show up to court.

[1five10]

Who was at fault? Was a police report filed? Whose insurance company accepted liability? Once liability is determined, it's up to that insurance company to handle all bills such as property damage and bodily injury. Even though you were going straight and he was turning left does not make it automatically his fault. There's several arguable instances. That's where the police report comes into play. They (the police) determines who was at fault in the actual report. If it was not conclusive, then you're screwed, because then it will be 50/50, which means that you were both at fault. Then your own insurance company would take care of only your car and your injuries if you have uninsured motorist coverage. The other person would be assed out because he has no insurance which means he needs to care of his own car and injuries. The only legal avenue he has is to come after you. That's where the question of liabilty comes into to play.

All correspondence should be forwarded to your attorney anyways and they should be the one to advise you how to handle this.The other driver cannot win a suit if he is liable for the accident, regardless if he was injured or not.

Your insurance is what should prevent this from happening to you. That's why you pay for it.

PM me with your number. I'm a Dr. in SoCal who handles personal injury cases and my brother is a litigator for a major insurance company. I should be able to give you some advice.

[Wei240]

yeah, if the other party is at fault per the police report you have nothing to worry about

countersue for emotional distress, lol

[eastcoastS14]

^^ i agree with everyone else you most likely have this one in the bag def talk to an attorney but get a copy of the police report if you dont already have one, take pictures of the street/damage to your car that would indicate that you couldnt have been at fault. Get as much evidence as you can and you will be straight right now this guy has nothing to stand on except for his story which probably wont hold up in court and yeah if its really a hassel counter sue if hes smart he'll realize he wont win and you will and drop the suit

[smurfgcr]

i wouldnt see anything bad happening. right of way is right of way. even if it was the judge himself who pulled out into your car, he still wouldnt be able to win this case. good luck man, and dont stress!

[s13silvia123]

long story short: got into accident a while back, I had right away (going straight), other party doesn’t (making a left). Then we crashed.

We have full coverage and the other party doesn’t. In the end our insurance company paid for our car and they pursued his insurance company for money. Since it was his fault, he was not compensated at all. As far as medical goes, our attorney is still pursuing his insurance company for it.

I just got a court summon from a deputy; Form SC-100 to appear in a small claims court. The plaintiff is seeking 7500$ in damage to his cost of repair, medical expense and suffering.

Any advice for me? Unfortunately small claims court does not allow attorney to appear…


have all your paper work and you'll win for sure just like what s13gold said. you have insurance which the other guy didnt. its a fact that you just have insurance and it will help you out.

[max240]

Def. call your insurance. Ive been sued before in accidents and my insurance always handled it for me, never even had to appear. Hell, they may even countersue him directly, to scare him, and they will hit him for a lot more money than $7500.00:aw:

[womenbeshoppin]

thats some booo shit, u better spank that ass

[SochBAT]

my teacher told me if i ever got into a situation like this, bring a tiny white board, and draw things out in court.

Ask him basic driving rules, right of way, etc etc. Draw up other scenarios before your own. Builds up enough pressure to have his bitchass crack in claims, and have teh court throw that shit outta the window. Then, CounterSue. He doesn't have insurance!

[rokmplutonium]

Even if you do lose, you can always appeal.
In appeals court you can have a lawyer with you. Think its like $75 to appeal a case.

Counter-sueing for your pain and suffering

[DrtyRat]

Your insurance company is suppose to represent you.

Def. call your insurance. Ive been sued before in accidents and my insurance always handled it for me, never even had to appear. Hell, they may even countersue him directly, to scare him, and they will hit him for a lot more money than $7500.00

This is the way it works. I've been in an accident before w/the same situation were someone else was at fault and they tried to sue me. I spoke w/my insurance comp. and they took care of it. I never had to show up at court.

[Ca_laurier]

nothing like bringing in all the paperwork proofing that you were not at fault. you will win the case cause he has nothing on you besides wanting your money. but i do agree the insurance company can handle it, happened with my brother a couple of times

[soreballz]

All of the above is good advice, save for the countersuing part.
In you MUST countersue, don't do it over stupid shit like "pain and suffering". In a case like this, you should only countersue for the money you're losing by being in court instead of work. Usually, silly countersuits just annoy the judges. lol

[rokmplutonium]

All of the above is good advice, save for the countersuing part.
In you MUST countersue, don't do it over stupid shit like "pain and suffering". In a case like this, you should only countersue for the money you're losing by being in court instead of work. Usually, silly countersuits just annoy the judges. lol

How is sueing for pain and suffering stupid? If i was injured, i'd want free money.
Besides, you''ll probably be rewarded more money for pain and suffering then you would for missing 2 hours of work. You're not going to win a coutersuit for missing work unless even the judge says its a frivolous lawsuit against you.

[Ikant]

man, people are so fucking dumb i swear. if the police report says it is their fault, which the report has a section which states who was at fault, the judge will rule in your favor, period.

[broken240sx]

man, people are so fucking dumb i swear. if the police report says it is their fault, which the report has a section which states who was at fault, the judge will rule in your favor, period.

he's right

COUNTERSUE

you have to go any way, just go down to the county clerks office or the court where you were summoned to. they have info packets and brochures that tell you what to do. It isn't really that difficult, you just have to tell your side of the story and present your proof. I'm sure your lawyer can help you through it as well.

The judge will not like him at all when he sees that he is dragging you there for some bullshit

[loveless]

Hi, thank you for your responses. The court is in California, and here our small claim court is up to $5000. However a natural person (not a business or public entity) can sue up to $7500, and that is the amount the other party is seeking.

Unfortunately we don’t have a police report. We called the police that night, some body came (not sure what kind if police) but he said since there is no public property damage, he is not going to write a report.

So basically right now it is his words again mine. I have however a letter copied to me from our insurance company to the other party, stating that his claim is denied because they have concluded that he has made an unsafe left turn.

Since I have this letter, and that defendant can appeal the judgment one time, I supposedly is in a better position at this point. However, I am a bit concerned because the other party claimed that he has a witness, which is bull shit because we were together for about 90 min after the accident and I see absolutely no body with him.

I have written this letter and I plan to mail it out later today in attempt to settle out of court. Plaintiff xxxxx,

This letter is to inform you that we the defendants, xxxxx & xxxx of case xxxxx to be heard in the court of xxxxxx, have filed a SC-120 for Defendant’s Claim in an effort to counter sue you. We seek monetary damage for the cost of our insurance deductible in addition to compensatory damage for cause of distress. Currently, we are in a much better position than you because being defendants, we have the right to appeal judgment made against us while you do not possess this golden opportunity; in addition, we have the right of way. In another word, you risk to lose more where we can pursue your money, wage or personal property in an attempt to pay for our damage.

You have a chance to settle this prior to the trial. You must notify us the defendants and the court in advance. You can also go to the trial and try to win your case against overwhelming odds.

The defendants,
xxx
xxxx

I know most likely he will not be scared by it and we will still have to go to court. I was wondering if you guys can brief me on the procedure. Do we get to use witness? Do we get to cross examine the other party’s witness? Who gets to make the 1st statement? … etc

By the way, I am doing a counter sue... for 700$ only hehe... 500$ for insurance deductible and $200 for cause of distress for 2 defendant... how is that?

[S13 Charlie]

Though I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, a lot of things have been said too. I think the key here is to get a police report, especially if it states who's at fault. The second a judge sees that, game over. Even if there is no police report, or it doesn't say who's at fault, as long as you have your story straight, and you weren't speeding, then you're good. Whatever happens, don't lose your cool. If you do want to counter-sue, definitely do not do it for pain and suffering. You're pain and suffering was covered by your insurance company already. You can, however countersue for missing work, and any other expenses incurred by the other guy's initial suit - but it's probably not worth the trouble. This may sound dumb, but watch some people's court. If nothing else, you'll get a feel for how (and mostly how not) to act in court.

Good luck, though I think you'll come out on top.

cheers,
C

[Wei240]

did you call your insurance company?
what did they say?

[g6civcx]

Since he's the plaintiff, if the judge rules in your favour, isn't he barred from appealing?

Or am I thinking of a different state...

[SochBAT]

Play some Phoenix Wright, he'll tell you whats up.

I'm sure you've got this cat in the bag.

[rokmplutonium]

The plantiff gets the first statement.
Bring all necessary document(s)/ witness(es) that you have.
If your witness(es) can't be there, you should at least have an affidavit from them.
Pictures would be extremely helpful

Basically this is how it works, he tells his side, you tell yours.

Just curious, how did you come to the sum of $200?
I would seriously consider revising your letter. You want to stay humble.

[prang11]

Your insurance company will pay for any court fees or lawyer fees you have. It dosnt sound like you have much to worry about. The guys just wasting yours and his own time.

[OBEEWON]

Don't worry about it if it wasnt your fault. You can sue anyone for anything, it doesnt mean you will win. Good luck.

[ciGARRETTsRbad4u]

When is your court date?
Keep up updated on what happens.