Car Accident

rlg · #1 12-08-2005, 03:57 PM

What is the name of your state? South Carolina
My 16 yr old son was the driver of a car that hit another car head on, on his way to school. He had his seatbelt on and was not seriously injured. Three of his friends did not have seatbelts on and were thrown from the car and suffered severe injuries. These three and the other driver are refusing to accept the insurance money and are attempting to sue us. Does anyone know if they can take everything I own?

LostInNy · #2 12-08-2005, 04:03 PM

NY
Being from NY , seatbelts are required. However, I don't know in your state. If they are, isn't it the responsibility of the driver to make the passengers put on seatbelts? If they refused, I would make this known, since that it was ejected them from the car if they weren't wearing them. Unless it can be proven that even if they had worn them, they still would have been thrown due to impact and extent of accident. I would also say that being in a lawsuit myself on the other end, we are told we can only go after insurance company amount that they are insured. I didn't know you could go after the person as well. Wouldn't that be being tried for the same thing twice?
I hope all is well with you. As for the people involved, I hope all is well with them as well since nobody likes to see anyone get hurt. Money changes people, it's strange, however plainly true.
sorry if I wasn't much help.

moburkes · #3 12-08-2005, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlg

What is the name of your state? South Carolina
My 16 yr old son was the driver of a car that hit another car head on, on his way to school. He had his seatbelt on and was not seriously injured. Three of his friends did not have seatbelts on and were thrown from the car and suffered severe injuries. These three and the other driver are refusing to accept the insurance money and are attempting to sue us. Does anyone know if they can take everything I own?

People can sue anybody for any reason. They don't have to accept any settlement that they deem to be to low. They can sue you (and the insurance company) and part of the money (up to the policy limits) will come from the insurance company. The rest they will try to get from you. They will try to get judgments to garnish your checks, get the equity from your house, etc to get the money that they win (if they win).

rlg · #4 12-08-2005, 04:11 PM

South Carolina
In South Carolina, it is not mandatory to wear a seatbelt, until tomorrow. State Farm's lawyer says we can't use that as a defense. My son did ask them to put on their seatbelts, but they refused. Unfortunately, we don't have enough of insurance to go around for four people, so they can try to sue us for being negligent.
Thanks for your comments and I hope everything turns out ok for you.

abaga · #5 12-08-2005, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlg

South Carolina
In South Carolina, it is not mandatory to wear a seatbelt, until tomorrow. State Farm's lawyer says we can't use that as a defense. My son did ask them to put on their seatbelts, but they refused. Unfortunately, we don't have enough of insurance to go around for four people, so they can try to sue us for being negligent.
Thanks for your comments and I hope everything turns out ok for you.

I'm sorry to hear you are having to go through this. Thank Gd your son was not seriously injured. I'm sorry to hear of the other injuries.

I know hindsight is 20/20, however, when someone gets in the car, tell them they have to put on their seat belts. If they refuse, tell them they can walk! That is what I have told people.

I wish you a lot of luck!

InsuranceLadyAZ · #6 12-08-2005, 06:50 PM

Yes, a judgment against you that goes above your policy limits could bankrupt you. I advise my clients with teen drivers to get an umbrella policy, but that's sometimes not even enough. What limits were you carrying on your insurance?

rlg · #7 12-09-2005, 07:54 AM

$60,000. What if we owe on everything we own? Will we have to sell it and give to them? What about garnishing wages? Profit sharing?

InsuranceLadyAZ · #8 12-09-2005, 12:31 PM

That question may get better responses in the bankruptcy forum. I, personally, have no experience with bankruptcy and could, therefore, not answer your follow-up question. Stay tuned for more responses from people who can help with that issue. $60,000 limits with a teenage driver in the house is absolutely too low, but hindsight is 20/20.

stephenk · #9 12-10-2005, 01:06 AM

Have you asked these questions to your insurance company? Unless your son was grossly negligent (legal term), you as the parent would only be liable as the owner of the car. your liability should be limited in that regard.

Again, express your concerns to your carrier until you get a complete answer.

moburkes · #10 12-10-2005, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephenk

Have you asked these questions to your insurance company? Unless your son was grossly negligent (legal term), you as the parent would only be liable as the owner of the car. your liability should be limited in that regard.

Again, express your concerns to your carrier until you get a complete answer.

The insurance agent can't help them with those questions. The insurance company will pay up to the limits of liability on the policy. That's it. They have no other responsibility, and will not assume any additional responsibilities, other than that particular policy. They need an attorney.

stephenk · #11 12-10-2005, 01:10 PM

Depends. A carrier has an obligation to inform their insureds if a claim is being made on their policy and that the claim may exceed the policy limits. The carrier has a duty to attempt to settle the claims within the policy limits. The parents liability may be limited since they were just the owners of the vehicle. Unless the claimants can show gross negligence on the kid and that the parents were aware of his lack of driving skills (for example), the parents would not be liable for their child's negligence.

rlg · #12 12-10-2005, 05:00 PM

In South Carolina, we have the family purpose doctrine, which means the head of household can be held liable for a child operating a vehicle. Our attorney, through State Farm, has offered up all of the money to each of the individuals. They are also suing the owner of the other car's insurance as well. My son had only had his license 5 months to the day. He was an inexperienced driver. It was foggy that morning and another car pulled out in front of him. He was speeding and couldn't get on the brakes so he attempted to go around and the other car came from nowhere around the curve and out of the fog. Yes, it was his fault, but he did not intentionally hurt his friends. The lawyer says he can take a long time to settle and if we are found guilty of purchasing a car for our son to drive to school, we may have a judgement against us.

justalayman · #13 12-10-2005, 06:06 PM

Just tossing this up in the air but I know we have an attorney and an ins person in here:

Would the fact that he was trying to avoid another vehicle be pertinent.

Are the passengers contributory in the extent of their injuries by not wearing seatbelts.

And why does everybody say they are suing the insurance company. They are not at fault for anything. When involved in a car accident suit I sued the DRIVER and it is the insurance that pays merely because the policy agreement. (just me being picky)

and to the OP...we are sure it was not intentional that's why they call it an accident...be glad nobody died and hopefully all will recover

rlg · #14 12-12-2005, 07:46 AM

It was foggy and a car pulled out in front of him, he couldn't get on the brakes to keep from hitting that car and swerved into the other lane and hit the other car headon. If the kids had their seatbelts on they probably would not have been injured as badly. In the state of South Carolina, it was voluntary to wear your seatbelt, up until last week. The accident happened last year. The lawyer says this cannot be part of the defense. The families have not filed a lawsuit yet, but are refusing the insurance money. They want more. There is not enough to go around.

InsuranceLadyAZ · #15 12-12-2005, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justalayman

Just tossing this up in the air but I know we have an attorney and an ins person in here:

Would the fact that he was trying to avoid another vehicle be pertinent.

Are the passengers contributory in the extent of their injuries by not wearing seatbelts.

And why does everybody say they are suing the insurance company. They are not at fault for anything. When involved in a car accident suit I sued the DRIVER and it is the insurance that pays merely because the policy agreement. (just me being picky)

and to the OP...we are sure it was not intentional that's why they call it an accident...be glad nobody died and hopefully all will recover

I don't believe the fact that the son was trying to avoid an accident is relavant because drivers are supposed to be in control of their vehicles at all times. It is not always practical, but that's the way it is. If I swerve to avoid one car and hit another, I'm still liable for the vehicle I struck.