Ducati Monster Forum

So back in September, I was approaching a light going yellow, but had plenty of space to make the light...UNTIL the driver in the lane to my right decides to pull in front of me attempt to make the light, then stomps on the brakes at the last second. Causes me to lock up my Diesel Mercedes brakes, and finally tap her bumper at @5mph. So light was the hit that her air bag did not deploy, and the thin bumper cover on her newish Honda got a slight crease in it. No biggie I think. Just let the insurance Co handle it. That is what they are there for. She gets out yelling and screaming "You hit me!". I calmly explain what happened, and said "Let's let my insurance handle it". She first calls her brother, then 911 to get an ambulance, fire dept. and police out. I figure, fine whatever. A group is gathering on the sidewalk asking me "she called the fire dept for that?" I just shrug.

I figure this is all done once the info is exchanged and the Police dismiss me. NOT. The insurance co sends out a photographer to photo my car(with no damage). And now she has filled a $25k lawsuit against my insurance co, which is more than my coverage for a single person/vehicle accident.

What am I supposed to do here? Just sit back and wait for a summons to come my way? No wonder insurance costs so much in Cali. Too many dam scammers. I wish I could sue her back. lol

Same exact thing happened to me.  Fortunately the insurance co.
Decided to fight it based on my description of the incident.  The prick
Sued for $25000.  In the end they gave him $2500.  That was after three
Years.  My secret hope is that he lost his f-cking a$$ paying his shyster
Lawyer.  I hope he does that to some bad a$$ biker who puts a cap in
His a$$.  I hate dishonest scammer a-holes.

Good luck.  I hope your insurance fights it.

Raise your limits guys. It doesn't cost much more and you don't have to stress about this stuff so much.

To the OP: Your insurance company will handle it. I wouldn't sweat it too much.

WTF ??? your insurance covers less than $25K ???

Russian dash cam time...

she can sue/ask for whatever she wants....it is up to court to decide what she may get or is entitled to ( unless there is an agreement as to an amenable $ figure in settlement beforehand)...just because she is asking for X doesn't mean she'll get it...they can very much decide on something very different...and your insurance company is in the role of trying not to pay out as much as possible...so it is in there best interest to fight this crazy lady with all of the documented evidence with a very well paid lawyer on retainer if it goes to that length.

and also FYI....if you have say $20K coverage and a person were to sue for more than that, your insurance ( if they were to win) would generally pay out your limit and you would then be responsible for the remainder of the judgement.

is there a way to search in the court records to see if she's done this before?

in MD, you can search Judiciary Case Search which is a government site with public information....I am sure there has to be a version in CA

As for the limits, my insurance actually dropped a few dollars when I went with higher limits.

JM

+1

Thanks for all the info guys. I guess it's time to revise my insurance level. Last accident I had was in 1998 and we both had the same insurance co. So the deductables just canceled out, and our cars got fixed. When I bought this car, I was broke and got the CA minimum just to comply. I hadn't thought about it till now.

Did a case search: http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1641716&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL (http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/page?_pageid=55,1641716&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL)

No luck. No results. Bummer.

I was on a civil case once.  Woman suing the city for a million dollare due to being injured while riding a NYC bus.  Award?  $0.00 ;D

Think of how many 80k cars zip around in california. Now consider the exotics.

Plan accordingly.  ;)

I am sorry to hear of your pain.  I got pained twice in one year....  I thank my stars for high coverage and I even am adding a million dollar personal policy that will allow for any payments that are above and beyond my 500k limits.  (You need top level auto insurance to get personal liability insurance).  The logo on the side of my Dodge Ram makes me a target.  One lady tried for 300k got 23k  Her husband got nothing for his 15k  "loss of conjunctive relationship" suit.  Funny about that because the ugly arse woman's mouth worked just fine......  [roll]

WTF?  are you serious?

I witnessed a collision a few years back near my home. A female attorney (with a dog in her car) turned left in front of a young female, causing the collision. The young girl was injured, the attorney was not. The attorney later sued the young girl and one of the issues she wanted compensation for was the emotional trauma the dog suffered.

same here in the DC Metro area....hence why I carry higher coverage in case some self important asshole with a Bentley and a million dollar lawyer on retainer does something stupid in front of me and tries to make my life miserable...

heck.  I hadn't even thought about this issue.  A dash cam sounds better all the time.  And I'll call my insurance company and see what kind of coverage I have.

+1

Sadly, yes.  The accident was minor, I was tired as heck and in the right hand lane of a two lane left turn.  The light turned green for the straight lane next to me and sure as heck I went right into the intersection.  Now one would think that someone int he opposing left turn lane would notice this, and notice it she did.  I had eye contact she drove her car right into the logo on my truck.  She must have punched the gas pedal to do it also......  There were no injuries, ambulances etc etc.  But it did not stop her from trying to get 300k from me.  In order to avoid a lengthy she settled for $23,000.  If had minimum coverages I would have lost $18,000.....

Insurance up!  And then get insurance for your insurance.  If you can afford it ( :   Most don't realize that they cant afford not to though.

Ins for ins, explain please?

Yea.

I think he's referring to an umbrella policy. If you have a lot of assets or lots of future earning potential, I think in umbrella is a REALLY good idea.

I need to read up more.. thanks..

If you own your own home an umbrella policy is a good idea.