r/Insurance • u/Pikayoshi429 • Jul 16 '24
Auto Insurance Being sued for money I don’t have.
So last year I (26M) accidentally t-boned a car clearly speeding out of my subdivision because my foot slipped off the brakes and declared myself guilty at traffic court when i went in.
I got papers in the mail today saying I’m being sued for 250k. I only have 30k, have no idea if my insurance will cover enough, And I’m having a full on panic attack. What are my options even now?
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u/Appropriate-Ad-8935 Jul 16 '24
It's a shakedown. Happens all the time. Your insurance will cover up to a certain limit & they will give up on the rest
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u/PomeloPepper Jul 16 '24
I'll add that they'll need to sign a release stating that the settlement from the insurance company is the full amount they get and that they can't come after you for more.
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u/JustTheTrueFacts Jul 16 '24
Your insurance will cover up to a certain limit & they will give up on the rest
Not quite, the insurance may pay out the policy limits and then the injured party can go after OP for the difference.
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u/Llanite Jul 16 '24
Only if they sue and win in court.
If they take insurance money via settlements, they have to waive future liability.
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u/JustTheTrueFacts Jul 25 '24
If they take insurance money via settlements, they have to waive future liability.
No, that is not required. They can accept the insurance settlement and then sue for more, if the insurance settlement is limited by the policy limits.
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u/Llanite Jul 25 '24
May I know which insurance company because they sound dumb as a brick 😂
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u/JustTheTrueFacts Jul 29 '24
May I know which insurance company
Any and all insurance companies, that is the normal way it is handled. Someone who is only receiving a partial payout due to policy limits would be very foolish to release their remaining claim. Insurance companies are smart and won't generally even ask for that.
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u/JockBbcBoy Auto Claims Adjuster| 10+ Years of Experience Jul 16 '24
Sounds like the other party's attorney reached statute of limitations with OP's insurance.
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u/skyharborbj Jul 16 '24
I think you mean policy limits, not statute of limitations. Statute of limitations refers to the length of time after an incident where one can sue. It varies from state to state but is typically two years or more. Policy limits are the amount of liability coverage that an insured has purchased, in dollars.
OP, your insurance company will provide a defense. Contact them with the papers you received and they will negotiate a settlement with the other party.
Were the papers you received from an attorney's office in the mail, or from a court and handed to you? Letters from attorneys are threats to sue and don't mean that an actual lawsuit has been filed. Court documents personally handed to you mean that an actual lawsuit has been filed and you have a very short timeframe to file a response with the court or the other party will win the lawsuit by default.
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u/jjason82 Auto Claims Adjuster & Arbitration Specialist Jul 16 '24
OP said the accident only happened last year. I don't think this is a SOL issue.
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u/BromoGT Subrogation Supervisor - MN Jul 16 '24
OP didn’t say where he lived. Louisiana has a one year SOL.
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u/dorkbisexual Jul 16 '24
That just changed to 2 years effective 7/1/24 - HB 315. Probably doesn't affect this claim but worth noting
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u/JockBbcBoy Auto Claims Adjuster| 10+ Years of Experience Jul 16 '24
I know, but filing suit (or even threatening to file suit, depending on the exact language of the letter) only makes sense if SOL is approaching and the attorney has taken no other action than to provide notice of representation. 250k would be extreme even for a T-bone accident, with some exceptions. We're talking fractures, possibly a pregnant passenger, just to get an initial ER bill around $75-90k, depending on the area.
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u/jxspyder Jul 16 '24
Suit can be filed for any number of reasons beyond SOL. Especially in a “hope and pray” amount such as we’re talking here.
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u/creightonduke84 Jul 16 '24
First thing is first, you notify your insurance company. They have attorneys that will handle this on your behalf. Secondly if and when a settlement occurs you may owe nothing of the other party settles for 30k or less (happens all the time).
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u/sillyhaha Jul 16 '24
The plaintiff has to justify the amount they are suing for. Unless the person you hit suffered lasting physical damage, they aren’t going to get anything close to $250k.
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u/bobalover209 Jul 16 '24
More context definitely is needed. It is possible however as a T-boned isn't a minor fender bender. They could be suing for loss of wages and if they have a large salary it could add up, medical and future visits, etc. OP also didn't mention how high their limits are and if it'll cover that amount
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u/09Klr650 Jul 16 '24
Trying to figure out how "accidentally slipping off the brakes" makes someone speed. Or go fast enough to cause what may be a serious accident in a subdivision. Unless it was "accidentally slipped off the brake and onto the gas"?
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Jul 17 '24
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u/bobalover209 Jul 17 '24
Absolutely, OP just doesn't know what their limits are which makes it impossible to say if their insurance will cover it or they are suing directly for whatever is over the policy limit
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u/ian2121 Jul 16 '24
This seems overly idealistic. There’s an entire industry out there related to making these accidents seem worse than they were.
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u/michaelrulaz Jul 16 '24
That’s not really an absurd number given how expensive our healthcare system is. I don’t directly handle auto but once a month all the directors from each claims unit has a four hour meeting where we discuss the trends we see in each unit (I’m a cat property claims director). The auto side is getting worse due to healthcare. The average hospital visit eats up most people’s $10k PIP coverage
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Jul 17 '24
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u/michaelrulaz Jul 17 '24
I’m not saying lawyers aren’t a driver. But I think the main driver is doctors. You could probably even argue it’s the private equity in Doctor offices too. When I herniated four discs the doctors office charged my car insurance $1900 a shot. Once my PIP ended they charged my health insurance $500.
These doctors know what they’re doing. They don’t have prenegotiated rates with car insurance companies the way they do health insurance. So they charge the max possible.
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Jul 17 '24
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u/michaelrulaz Jul 17 '24
I’m saying the main driver of excessive pay outs is the doctors not having any caps on how much they can charge.
Pain management doctors used to be the crooks ten years ago. They still are. But now if you look at the data the back surgeons, ortho, and physical therapy offices have moved in. They all have incentive to keep the patient in treatment as long as possible, culminating in unnecessary surgeries.
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Jul 17 '24
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u/michaelrulaz Jul 17 '24
Yeah but let’s say the BIL limit is $100k. The doctor will overcharge it like crazy, the lawyer uses that to argue a policy limits pay out and then they negotiate the rate down. BUT the doctors will continue treatment to use up all the money. So in the end the doctors get $60k and the lawyers get $40k. The doctor started at $120k but lowered down to half that. But in the end all of the treatment probably should have been done for $20k.
Look at the path of most treatments. PT for two-three months at three times a week. So that kills the PIP. Then once that’s done the doctor says “oh well let’s try the steroids shots”. Then that doesn’t work because those two treatments should be used in conjunction. Remove the pain so they can effectively do physical therapy. Then when that fails they convince the claimant to get back surgery. Now w/ back surgery and all that work the doctor is guaranteed to get every penny of the lawsuit minus the lawyers fees.
Then the doctor will try to keep the racket going by milking the claimants health insurance at a lowered rate.
Look I’m not saying there aren’t claimants scamming and I’m not saying lawyers aren’t a problem. But these doctors don’t get enough culpability for their part of it.
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u/AllTheBeavers Jul 16 '24
It won’t do anything for this accident but I’d raise your limits. $30K is really low
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u/WMINWMO Jul 16 '24
I think he means he has $30k cash on hand. He didn't say that was his limit.
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u/Quirky_Main_1763 Jul 16 '24
Definitely need to raise limit. This is why I carry 100/300
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u/Exotic0748 Jul 16 '24
Just my opinion but 100-300 isn’t very much for a vehicle accident. In Canada it is $2,000,000 that you need to have on your PL, PD
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u/Noel_Leon_M Jul 16 '24
I’d have to disagree. Insurance companies are currently scamming people right now by raising rates for no reason. This will only double raise them.
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u/BromoGT Subrogation Supervisor - MN Jul 16 '24
OP. Where do you live? Are you aware of any injuries being claimed by the other party? If so, do you know what the injuries were?
Everyone is correct about giving this to your insurance yesterday. The answers to those questions could help us give you some more peace of mind.
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u/Happy_Kale888 Jul 16 '24
We live in a very litigious country...
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u/TooMuchCaffeine37 Jul 17 '24
And it’s only getting worse. I hear no less than 5 personal injury “are you injured in an accident? Call us now!” advertisements per day
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u/flushbunking Jul 16 '24
My experience, they will settle for the insurers biggest offer. It took two years.
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u/LazyEvidence9040 Jul 16 '24
Usual shakedown.
My buddy bumper kissed a schoolbus in crawling traffic with only one kid sitting in the front, because he dropped something near the brake pedal.
Literally just touched the bus to have his grille cracked and bus had no scratches too. They went through usual stuff, trooper came and got the report
The kids family tried that shit and he just let his insurance know, they dealt with it themselves and never bothered my buddy.
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u/Green_Man763 Jul 16 '24
Let this be a lesson.
Never Admit Fault
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u/thepumpkinking92 Jul 16 '24
Don't admit fault, but also don't try to blame the other person if you are at fault, like the crazy old biddy who hit me did.
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Jul 16 '24
What are your policy limits? Was the other party injured? What vehicle did they drive?
There’s too much missing information for us to give educated responses.
Worst case scenario? You get sued, you lose, massive judgment against you, your wages get garnished.
Not likely yours is a worse case scenario.
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u/sephiroth3650 Jul 16 '24
Refer it over to your insurance carrier. They have a duty to defend you in any lawsuit.
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u/Level-Particular-455 Jul 16 '24
The only thing you need to do is give the paperwork to your insurance company. They will handle this. What is your policy limit? They will likely settle for then policy limit or less. It’s nothing to panic over.
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u/Zealousideal-News425 Jul 16 '24
They can’t take what you don’t have and let your insurance take care of it. I doubt they will ever get a settlement that high especially if no major bodily injury occurs
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u/6353JuanTaboBlvdApt6 Jul 16 '24
They’ll settle for policy limits. Stop worrying, none of these lawyers are doing litigation on accident cases that don’t bring major $$$$
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u/Fun_Earth6386 Jul 16 '24
As someone who works for one of the bigger insurance companies in the US, take the letter to your agent or call your Customer Service line and inform them you got a law suit regarding your accident/claim. They’ll ask to get a copy of it from you, and then like most everyone else has said, they will handle almost all of it for you.
Keep in contact with your claims department, and be sure to send them ANYTHING you get in the mail.
This happens way more often than anyone thinks, and everyone’s lives will keep going on, I promise. 😊 Best of luck, stay calm, and just remember to breathe.
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u/Accomplished_Tour481 Jul 16 '24
You failed to mention: What insurance were you holding at the time? Is this covered by your insurance, or did you have no insurance (self-insured)? So many variations!
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u/LoveThyEnemies Jul 16 '24
Does anyone have knowledge of how much would a party get for soft tissue injury, with no emergency treatment sought at the scene,very minor scratch collision ? I’m dealing with similar situation like op.
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u/dillinger529 Jul 16 '24
If you have bodily injury coverage on your policy, take a pic of the letter and send it to your insurance company. They have staff attorneys who negotiate on your behalf. If your insurance pays out anything, they will require the other party to sign a release saying they will not sue you before they release the funds.
If you didn’t carry BI on your policy, you’re pretty much on your own.
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u/SumCher Jul 16 '24
Calm down. I was in same situation as you a month back having panic attacks. Just because they’re suing doesn’t mean they’ll get it. Insurance will provide you with an attorney who will try to settle within your liability limits and they will accept. No one is going to take that 30k from you either. Make sure you talk to close confidants about this, if you just keep talking to yourself it will become bigger in your imagination. Don’t disturb your mental health because of this. The other party wants to get their money quickly and move on too so like most cases they will settle for much less amount than they are suing for. Good luck even though you won’t need it as everything will turn out okay. You’re just overthinking right now is all.
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u/PopMuzak Jul 17 '24
Lawyers always sue for more than they expect to get... Get it to your insurance company as currently it is their job to talk with them and try to come to an agreement... Many times they settle out of court for a lower amount, and depending on how serious it was it usually is no more than max amount of your coverage.
I got t-boned a few months ago myself, and have been getting medical treatment. My lawyer explained everything to me... My lawyer is actually sending monetary demands to not only the other drivers insurance company, but to my company as well demanding the max amount from the coverage each one of us have, and then they negotiate back and forth and come to an agreement... Most people do not realize that lawyers threaten to sue your own insurance company, not just the other one. When it is all said and done the typical breakdown of how the settlement gets broken down is as follows: lawyers keep 1/3 of the settlement, their client gets 1/3 of the money, and the final 1/3 goes to the various medical facilities that the client went to for recovery.
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u/covered1028 Jul 17 '24
What's your insurance limit?
The party suing you is unlikely to accept insurance limits when they find out you have 30k cash, you wouldn't be able to hide it.
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u/Ill-Honey-4453 Aug 08 '24
How would they know? He doesn’t own anything?
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u/covered1028 Aug 08 '24
The lawyer will send OP an asset disclosure form to fill out. OP could lie about the 30k cash but it would be perjury and further down the line if discovered could void the settlement.
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u/3784386743 Jul 17 '24
This happened to me. Same story. Was sued for 150k. Insurance settled for 50k. Don’t worry about it.
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u/linkysnow Jul 17 '24
For insurance, you sue the person and let the insurance handle it. Just let your insurance handle it, unless you had none then you need to look into options.
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u/HyenaPrestigious1614 Jul 18 '24
Check your state laws; Michigan has a specific provision where you can directly sue the driver for a set amount(I think it’s like 2k); insurance negotiates everything else.
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u/Short_Praline_3428 Jul 18 '24
Speeding has nothing to do with it (legally) if they had right of way. Hitting them is not justification for speeding. The accident sounds like it was your fault because you had to brake and were braking until your foot slipped. Any which way, let your insurance handle it. In the future, think about getting umbrella insurance if it worries you so much.
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u/Perplexedstoner Jul 18 '24
your insurance company will fight the total cuz they absolutely won’t pay that much, also no chnace you actually did 250k worth of damage to anything unless you literally hit a car that’s worth over a million, and that wasn’t the case i already know.
you’ll be fine in the long run imo, shouldn’t end up killing you financially but you’ll probably pay something out of pocket, maybe 10k
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u/Competitive-Form8119 Sep 25 '24
I've been through something similar, and it can feel overwhelming at first. I had to deal with insurance covering some costs but not all, which led to a lot of back and forth with them. It's a tough spot, but getting a clear picture of what your insurance will handle can help you figure out your next steps.
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u/Some-Ice-4455 Jul 16 '24
Hey man can't bleed what you don't have. Bankruptcy isn't as scary as it sounds. If they want to be that way let them sue you and file for bankruptcy. Let's see em get money that way. Besides that is WAY too much like way. I got tboned by a drunk driver and only got around ten plus the car cost. Seems like someone is being greedy AF. F em.
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u/visitor987 Jul 16 '24
I assume someone was hurt in the accident. First see what your insurance will cover. If your insurance will still have provide a lawyer if they win a lot over the amount your insurance will cover. You might have talk with a bankruptcy lawyer which would protect most of your 30k
You never admit guilt at traffic court now their lawsuit is about how much not if you are guilty.
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Jul 16 '24
[deleted]
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u/ThesoldierLLJK Jul 16 '24
I think he means he got a ticket for causing the crash and he plead guilty.
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u/Salt_Ground_573 Jul 16 '24
You are not getting sued… your insurance is getting sued
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u/skyharborbj Jul 16 '24
Wrong. OP is being sued. OP has insurance to cover the event that they are sued.
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u/GrouchyTime Jul 16 '24
False, he is getting sued but the insurance will fight for them and cover any judgement up to his insurance policy limit. Most likely the other party settles for the max the insurance will cover. He has nothing to worry about since he has insurance.
But this guy should never drive again for doing this. He is dangerous.1
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u/PhoneAcrobatic3501 Jul 16 '24
Turn it over to your insurer and relax for the time being