quote:

Originally posted by teufel-man and third of all, the $1m claim or whatever is obviously unrealistic, otherwise you woulda probably got this lawsuit right after the thing happened, also see if they are allowed to sue you 2 years after the fact..... i am guessing this sort of thing would usually be settled out of court for a small percentage of what they are actually asking for

there's big business in suing after car accidents. Not like in the US, but insurance companies will often pay settlments just to get people off their backs. Not huge.. but 10-20k settlments are pretty common.

also I'm sure the question will definitely come up as to why this person is suing now and now 2 years ago. Assuming they were severily injured they naturally would have been in touch with both yours and the TTC's insurance company to cover the cost of rehabilitation.

quote:

Originally posted by activate there's big business in suing after car accidents. Not like in the US, but insurance companies will often pay settlments just to get people off their backs. Not huge.. but 10-20k settlments are pretty common. also I'm sure the question will definitely come up as to why this person is suing now and now 2 years ago. Assuming they were severily injured they naturally would have been in touch with both yours and the TTC's insurance company to cover the cost of rehabilitation.

yeah i was thinking a settlement under 30k would be likely... if this person gets any money at all

and i think there is some sort of rule, maybe its for criminal charges or something, but it was something along the lines of you couldnt charge the person later than 6 months after the accident, so there is probably a similar law for suing someone, otherwise, you could get in some sort of accident and decide not to sue... until 5 years later when you get into money trouble, then you decide to sue...

overall, i think you have nothing to worry about, lets hope so at least

I totally missed that this happened over 2 yeara ago. I wouldnt even stress at this point. I got into an accident where the case was not settled within 2 years and the courts just thew it out. They have a name for for it but i cant remember.

were you criminally charged as a result of the accident (e.g. criminal negligence, impaired driving, etc.)?

if not, I think your liability component of your auto insurance policy should cover it. a million $$$ is standard, but I think you *must* have 200k minimum, so you should be fine, no?

i second activate's claims re: insurance


one thing i hate about ontario is that you can sue others when injured in car accidents. Thats why insurance is sooooo fucking expensive.

In quebec for example, when you're injure the guv. (Societee assurance Auto) covers the injuries and ur insurance covers damaages.

Thats why ull see retarded lawsuits like that.
and even if they were to be allowed the full $1M, the insurance company of the suer would get most of it and the injured a small portion..

SCOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Short time TA, Long time Guver, Good time giver.

can't someone still sue if their injuries sustained cause more severe symptoms later down the road? i recall my dad once got rear ended by another car at a stop light and suffered back problems but only a few years later after the condition became more chronic & persistent..

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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow

Something similar happened to a friend of mine when he was 17. The person he hit was an up-and-coming basketball player at the high-school level and his dreams of going to the NBA were shot.

Within a year, he was served a $1.5M lawsuit, personally, and his insurance company ended up paying the WHOLE bill (including substantial legal fees for both parties).

My friend tells me that the whole process was extremely difficult, and in court, a lot of shit was dragged in about his personal life, his character. The plaintiff even hired a private investigator to take pictures and videos of my friend as he left school to monitor his social life, in case there was any dirt he could drag into court to help the plaintiff's case.

God forbid that your case be handled the same way, but just be on your best behaviour from now until this thing is settled (lol it took 3 years for my buddy) and make sure you keep a positive outlook about it. You can learn a lot from this experience.

All the charges against my buddy were dropped, (luckily no one died so it wasn't all that bad) but if you need a good lawyer, I can refer his or even a couple that I consulted when I had my dangerous driving charge dropped.

Let me know, and best of luck!

quote:

Originally posted by dEsidEL can't someone still sue if their injuries sustained cause more severe symptoms later down the road? i recall my dad once got rear ended by another car at a stop light and suffered back problems but only a few years later after the condition became more chronic & persistent..

i took a business law course over the summer and we went over this exact situation... however i dont remember what the 'answer' was... anyways pick up a law textbook at the library and look up tort law... you'll find it in there... or just talk to a lawyer hahaha

but once again, i dont really think you have much to worry about in terms of you or your father having to pay anything personally out of yoru pocket

Thank you all for all the kindness and input ... Had to go out for a quick run to regenerate.

quote:

Originally posted by activate I assume you had liabilty insurance? Assuming you did, then let the insurance company worry about it. That's the whole point of liability insurance and the insurance company will fight tooth and nail to avoid paying anything. also, unless the injuries were very severe (ie broken limbs, permanant disabled etc..) then the chances of them actually getting anything close to that amount are non existant. but ya... call a lawyer for advice for sure.

Yes I have liability insurance and to be honest when I saw the amount I thought I was hit by a storm. But you’re right, insurance is supposed to cover to some large extent.
And in regards to her injuries it’s claimed that the plaintiff has

quote:

sufferd from serious and lasting permenant injuries to her neck, knees, hands, back and legs, chronic muscle spasms and physical, emotional and nervous upset and trauma, together with a general tearing and straining of the muscles and ligaments throughout her body.

And I was not impaired nor I had any sort of criminal charge at the time of accident.

quote:

Originally posted by activate also I'm sure the question will definitely come up as to why this person is suing now and now 2 years ago. Assuming they were severily injured they naturally would have been in touch with both yours and the TTC's insurance company to cover the cost of rehabilitation.

I think you must be right and they can't sue after a couple of years. However I messed up big time. The reason I'm kickin myself is the horrible thing that I did. Just before the 2 year deadline someone from an insurance company called me and asked me for an interview for environmental purposes. Not goin into details but at the time I was having tough times and was not focused enough to acknowledge the trap. I basically explained them everything and admitted that It was my fault and signed it in some paper. I know I know very stupid move ... god ... I thought I was doing a good thing for the society by telling him the truth. So I think this whole claim possibly has revived because of my stupid move.

I will contact with a lawyer about this and see what will happen. I'm truly sorry for what happened to her but definitely there's been some sort of exaggerations here. And the insurance adjuster's dirty job has just motivated me to fight this as far as I can.

Last edited by Ace_of_Spades on Aug-24-2007 at 05:52

Dood this is really messed up, I hope things workout for you and wish you good luck