Car accident in August - person claiming injury

[JGGR]

In august of last year my husband had a car accident involving two other cars. He was responsible for hte accident. The car who he direclty hit is fine, meaning, they are not coming after us. This car hit the car in front of it and this guy has now contracted an attorney claiming injury. Does this mean we are being sued and if so, can they come after us? We're on month 4 of a Chapter 13. Accident happened a month before we filed. We found about this when we got a letter in the mail from a Claims Rep notifying us that this person has hired an attorney and she would be handling our case. I can't believe this is happening!!! What the hell does this mean? And can they pursue us even though we're in Bankruptcy? HELP!!!
PS I will call the lady from our insurnace company tomorow, and perhaps call my attorney later... THANKS!

[FoolAndHisMoney]

If your husband hit a car in front of him and the car in front of him hit another car in front and that person is suing, depending upon your state the person suing can only sue the car that made contact which wouldn't be your husband. The rule is the person should have allowed more space between himself and the car in front so he's(driver in front of husband) pretty much screwed. Again I think this rule depends upon your state. If they can sue your husband, then I think any judgement against him can go in the plan and the person suing will become an unsecured creditor. If DWI was involved then the judgement will survive bankruptcy. I bet if they knew you were in bankruptcy they probably wouldn't even bother suing since they won't get much anyway.

[Graphic]

Yes they can come after you. Most personal injury cases don't even get heard for 3-4 years after they file in court. If they are planning on suing you, you will know. For all you know they could be suing for a product liability case or some other thing and just have you as part because you were part of it. I don't know all the details but sounds like it would be more of a personal injury suit. However to answer your question you can still get sued even though you are in bankruptcy. Probably be best to consult an attorney.. most give free consults at first. Goodluck

Like fool said it's different in every state so look at your states cases and statutes.. if you give me your state I'll look up the info for you

[JGGR]

We live in PA and that's where the accident happened. I don't know what the rules are. My husband hit Car A, and Car A hit Car B. Car B is suing. So, no... my husband did not hit made direct contact with this car. Our confirmation hearing is not till the end of March. If they're suing, I hope we still have some time to include them in the Plan. It wasn't a DWI... thank God!! And I agree with you... if they know we are in Bankruptcy, I"m sure they wouldn't even bother! But, can they come after us once the plan is over?

[JGGR]

Thanks Graphic. We live in PA.
My question is, what if they come after us? We obviously don't have any $ to give to them. I don't know if I should tell my bankrputcy attorney. These guys are usually not much help...

[FoolAndHisMoney]

We live in PA and that's where the accident happened. I don't know what the rules are. My husband hit Car A, and Car A hit Car B. Car B is suing. So, no... my husband did not hit made direct contact with this car. Our confirmation hearing is not till the end of March. If they're suing, I hope we still have some time to include them in the Plan. It wasn't a DWI... thank God!! And I agree with you... if they know we are in Bankruptcy, I"m sure they wouldn't even bother! But, can they come after us once the plan is over?

That too depends upon the statute of limitations in Pa. Some states have up to 3 years after the accident that they can sue. Yes call your lawyer for this one. Good luck

[Graphic]

PA's statute of limitations to file a suit is 2 years. So they are within that amount of time. Like I said, once they get it in court and by the time the court actually gets it thru the system it might be 3-5 years in some cases. Mostly because of all the backup in the system. Hence all the settlements etc. As far as personal injuries, I don't want to give legal advice because personal injury has so many different torts to deal with and there are so many different areas they can go. From the top of my head I would say they can sue you even though you didn't hit their car. Why? Some sort of negligence.. because if your husband hadn't hit the car he did, that car more than likely wouldn't have hit their car. Usually what they do in those situations is call it 'comparative negligence' .. The car you hit was also negligent on following their car so closely so they could be given a percentage to pay as well according to what percent the court feels they were negligent.

So if they think it was 60% your fault and 40% the other car then if you had a 10k suit you would pay 6k.

Like I said there are so many avenues they could go thru. I had a whole years worth of classes on torts (personal injury..and other things) so I would suggest mentioning it to an attorney or getting some consults.

[SinkingFast]

You really need to check your state laws about it. It does vary from state to state.

One state we lived in, your Hubby would be responsible for Car A and Car A would be responsible for Car B. In Missouri, they assign %'ages of fault. Someone else can hit you but the accident can still be partially your fault.

Regardless of your state's law, accidents do happen, and the injured party has to prove your husband committed some sort of gross, malicious negligence. Drinking/DUI/under the influence, chatting on his cell phone, major mechanical defect with your car you knew about but did not fix that directly contributed to the accident, etc. The burden of proof is on them at this point.

They have contacted your insurance company. You insurance company is acting as your legal representation for now. Insurance companies have attnys on retainer for things like this Just like you don't want to be sued, your insurance company doesn't want to pay. Check on your policy and limits of coverage, and wait. Maybe try and find any witnesses and gather statements if you can.

[JGGR]

Well, for all we know, it wasn't a DUI/DWI or any other thing... It was raining a lot on that day. He wasn't talking on the phone and the car did not have any defects. He was going to work at the naval base. Well, I will leave it now to this Claim Rep at my insurance company. I'm sure we can settle once they find out we are in Bankruptcy (I hope!!). And we still have 32 more months into our Plan, more than the 2 years they have to file a claim. I'm just so confused and worried. I hope we can work this out.

[SinkingFast]

I didn't intend to frustrate or upset you more by telling you all that stuff. I was hoping you would learn and be comforted. My best friend is an insurance broker and the VP of her company. I have really learned a lot about insurance from her.

Sounds like your Hubby wasn't negligent in any way. It was just an accident. And like I said before, accidents do happen. Your insurance company is used to contacts like this. It happens every day in their line of business and we aren't aware because it hasn't happened to us.

One of the oldest scams is whip lash/neck/back injury. Cry fowl and get some quick, easy money. Could be they've contacted the driver of the other car as well, possibly the city/county, and whoever else they can think to "blame". It could all be a scare tactic to rattle some cages to see what shakes out.

Your insurance carrier is your legal representative right now. That's what we pay premiums for. For the insurance company to be there to protect us when we need it. I'd think if it were something more urgent or pressing, you would have been contacted by phone or in person, in addition to receiving a letter. Sounds like at this point, your insurer is just keeping you informed as events occur.

[Graphic]

Settlements are a big thing. Especially with insurance companies. I've seen cases where they'll just pay people to get the suit over with. Why? Mainly because court costs and having to worry about the case for a 3 year period (time it takes to get your day in court) is just more of a problem for insurance companies then going thru court proceedings. Attorney Fees and everything else. Plus who says they'll ever get any money even though they get a judgment? The person might be judgment proof.

Like I said there are tons of avenues in personal injury and your best bet is to consult an attorney that deals with this stuff daily. It's a touchy situation

[JGGR]

thanks everyone. I haven't been contacted by phone, just the one letter. It was an accident. Maybe they just want some quick money. I don't know.. We'll see what happens. Thanks!

[JGGR]

Yes, I will call our Claims Rep at our insurance company tomorrow. She is the one who sent the letter - I hope you get some sort of information. I'm just frustrated with everything.. first bankrupcy... now this... I don't have any more $ to give to whoever wants it. 5 months after this car accident, and now's when they've hired an attorney. I hope we can work it out with our insurance company. I'll keep everyone posted.

[JGGR]

Apparently we are not being sued. this is being handled by the claims rep at the insurance company. If the guy (and his attorney) does not want to settle, then the claim will go to my insurance's attorney and they'll deal with it. So, for now... all is good...

[SinkingFast]

Yeah!!