Being sued in WV for reckless driving, NO criminal charges though

[Cef]

What is the name of your state? WV

I was driving through WV and on the interstate traveling the speed limit when I hit a patch of black ice, crossed the median and hit an oncoming vehicle. This was 2 years ago.
I was never charged with reckless driving criminally due to a severe-quick weather change that caused the ice to form (so I believe, never read report actually)

Last week I received a civil lawsuit stating me as the defendant (other person I hit as plantiff) stating I was "recklessly" driving and owe them more money.

The question I have:
Is this a ploy just to get more money out of my insurance agency or am I really going to go to court and be sued when criminally I was not even charged much less convicted?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Inform your insurance company.

People get sued all the time without an underlying criminal complaint.

 

[ecmst12]

You are not being sued for reckless driving. You are being sued for the property damage and/or injury that you caused the other driver. Regardless of whether you were driving recklessly or cited for same, the accident was your fault - your vehicle was in his lane.

Report the suit to your insurance company ASAP. They will provide for your defense up to your policy limits.

 

[Cef]

Thanks.

I did and am waiting to hear from them on this, just was curious if people could/would follow through and actually take a case like this to court?

I realize insurance agencies do not like to part with money but seems a tedious way to get them to pay up.

 

[Cef]

You are not being sued for reckless driving. You are being sued for the property damage and/or injury that you caused the other driver. Regardless of whether you were driving recklessly or cited for same, the accident was your fault - your vehicle was in his lane.

Report the suit to your insurance company ASAP. They will provide for your defense up to your policy limits.

I think you're right in that I'm not actually being sued for reckless driving. I'm being sued for causing injury to them due to my driving being reckless (willful or wanton disregard to safety of others by definition of law).

But if I wasn't reckless (no police charges), how can they expect to win or is it totally a different matter in civil court? I hope it's just a ploy to get the max value of my insurance policy but I'm just worried about it and hate waiting on lawyers/insurance agencies to work things out.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[ecmst12]

If no settlement agreement has been reached, it's possible that the other party filed suit just to preserve the statute of limitations. If you don't file suit within 2 years of the date of the accident (in most states, some states it is longer or shorter), you are forever barred from doing so (or at least you will not be able to win due to expired SOL), so even if they don't think it's going to need to go to trial, they're going to have to file now, just in case. In all likelihood, they will end up settling out of court even though the suit was filed.

 

[ecmst12]

You do not have to be "reckless". You do have to be "negligent", which you were, since your car was in the oncoming traffic lane. You were probably driving too fast for the icy conditions as well. The other driver was injured through no action of his own, it was ONLY because your vehicle was where it should not have been.

 

[Cef]

/agree.

That would make sense and I hope you're right.

 

[Cef]

You do not have to be "reckless". You do have to be "negligent", which you were, since your car was in the oncoming traffic lane. You were probably driving too fast for the icy conditions as well. The other driver was injured through no action of his own, it was ONLY because your vehicle was where it should not have been.

The unique situation about it was everyone was going the speed limit and 4 accidents occured almost simultaneously within a 10 mile stretch, all non-related to one another. So I would think that due to the environment and lack of police invovlement criminally that that would give me a sound basis for defense in a civil matter.

 

[Zigner]

The unique situation about it was everyone was going the speed limit and 4 accidents occured almost simultaneously within a 10 mile stretch, all non-related to one another. So I would think that due to the environment and lack of police invovlement criminally that that would give me a sound basis for defense in a civil matter.

The phrase you're looking for is "An Act of God" Good luck.
Let your insurance company know about and handle the lawsuit.

 

[ecmst12]

The unique situation about it was everyone was going the speed limit and 4 accidents occured almost simultaneously within a 10 mile stretch, all non-related to one another. So I would think that due to the environment and lack of police invovlement criminally that that would give me a sound basis for defense in a civil matter.

You would be wrong.
1) Just because you were going the speed limit does not mean you were not going too fast for conditions. The speed limit intended to be the safe speed in perfect weather/road conditions. If it is wet or icy, going the speed limit could easily be too fast.

2) You can't blame the weather for your accident. As the operator of a potentially lethal weapon, you are expected to be able to maintain control no matter what the conditions. If you can't, you shouldn't be driving in those conditions. The other driver maintained control of HIS vehicle, so clearly you COULD have done so, had you been going slower.

3) A traffic violation is usually not a criminal matter, most are summary offenses. They don't go through the same courts as actual criminal charges, you don't have the same rights to an attorney or a trial by jury, so "criminal" would not be the right word. And the fault determination in an auto accident is COMPLETELY separate from the traffic court system that issues citations. Whether or not you received a ticket for the accident has NO bearing on your liability. Your liability is determined SOLELY from the facts of the case. Namely, you lost control of your vehicle on ice and entered the oncoming lane. The fact that you didn't get a ticket doesn't change the rest and is NOT a valid defense to any suit. In fact, your insurance company has doubtless already accepted liability for the accident and are now just haggling over amounts.

 

[alnorth]

Thanks.

I did and am waiting to hear from them on this, just was curious if people could/would follow through and actually take a case like this to court?

I realize insurance agencies do not like to part with money but seems a tedious way to get them to pay up.

If you crossed into my lane, hit me, and your insurance refused to pay up, I'd sue you too. What else would the other driver do, just eat the cost of an accident? If your insurance company is reluctant to pay, as others have said the driver eventually had to sue before the statute of limitations, but a lawsuit will also get the insurance company's full attention and perhaps prod them into offering a settlement.