Husband's Being Sued for Car Accident

[Much appreciate]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? TX

Hello,

I'd appreciate any advice on the following scenario. My husband was driving in a residential area (speed limit 30) when he attempted a U turn. He was maybe going 4 mph when he was turning. While in the middle of turning, he struck another car. He never saw her, so it was a complete surprise. He struck her passenger side doors....according to my hubby, she never stopped so the damage was to both doors on passenger side. He assumes she may have tried to pass him in the 2 lane road since it was her passenger side that was struck.

Anyhow, his 6 month policy had expired literally the day before! The insurance company of course stated that despite his 6 plus years as a customer, there was no grace period.

The driver was fine walking around & talking on her cell. Once the police arrived, she sat in her car and started complaining that she was in pain and needed medical attention. We called the ER several times to see if she was ok, but after 6 hours of still in triage we gave up assuming that she was fine since the ER triage did not prioritize her condition. After a couple of months, we learned that she had hired a lawyer and was seeking 20,000 for medical injury, pain and suffering, car repairs etc. We asked the lawyer to send us his breakdown....turns out part of her medical treatment is for a wrist injury similar to carpal tunnel which results from long term use/wear and tear. We also asked the lawyer to send us a real quote / estimate from a car repair shop since they were claiming 6000 in damages...we never received one. After much harrassment from the lawyer with rude treatment to myself, husband and mother...we asked the lawyer to only contact us in written format as he was belligerant and threatening....he even threatened to get my husband in trouble at work (Air Force). The lawyer eventually stated that he would accept 6000 as the settlement. We asked that he send us something in writing accepting the amount, at which point we heard nothing else from him. Then 2 weeks ago, 1 day prior to the statute of limitation, my husband was served papers informing him he is being sued!

We have to respond to him by next week, but are unsure what we should say or do. Regardless of what the other driver did, my husband is automatically at fault since he was in the middle of a U turn when the accident occured. However, the lawyer is claiming my husband was reckless and that he did nothing to avoid the accident. Also included is that he did not give the driver at least 1/2 of the roadway, that he did not apply his brakes and "proceeded with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of Plaintiff and others". However, my husband never saw her and hence could not brake or avoid her, which is why there was an accident in the first place!

He is being sued for: "past and future medical bills; Past and FUTURE pain and suffering; Past and future mental anguish; fear of future disease and condition; cost of medical monitoring and prevention in the future and property damage of $2000". Now we see that the car estimate is more realistic.

I understand that my husband is responsible for the damage to the car....but is he really responsible for an injury that probably did not result from the accident? Also, what would be reasonable compensation for past pain and suffering....and what is fear of future disease!!! Is he really responsible for future monitoring and prevention?

The lady never tried contacting us to resolve this....she went straight out to a lawyer....she wants to make money, but we are sadly lacking that ourselves...so I ask you what we can do....what should we do...and what should we include in our written response?

Any and ALL help is needed.

Many thanks!

[stephenk]

please invest the time and effort to quickly hire an attorney to represent your husband. Does the other attorney know you were not insured at the time of the accident? Do you have assets, like a home?

[Much appreciate]

Originally Posted by stephenk

please invest the time and effort to quickly hire an attorney to represent your husband. Does the other attorney know you were not insured at the time of the accident? Do you have assets, like a home?

Thanks for the quick reply....the other attorney knows that my husband did not have insurance at the time and that there is little to be made off my husband.....as for assets....there are none in his name....could I be sued, or could my assets be taken away?

[Much appreciate]

From TX. What kind of lawyer are we needing? Could I, spouse, be sued for my assets? Also, I have a letter in reply to papers and would appreciate if anyone could review and offer pointers. Thanks!

Desperate and with many questions!

[stephenk]

were you also a registered owner of the car he was driving? If yes, you are on the hook too.

[Much appreciate]

Thanks stephen! Glad to know that I'm not liable. Sadly, my hubby's future finances affect me too.

We composed a reply letter for the served papers, and are planning on sending as a response to the served papers. Copy is at bottom. I would appreciate as many reviews/opinions as I can get. Needing any and all suggestions.

More Questions:

What should be changed / added to the letter?
How do we file this? Send to a lawyer? County Clerk?
What is a fair settlement offer for this lady?
What should we do? Would it better for us to settle outside of court, or go forward with a trial?
Are we expected to pay any judgements in full despite our financial situation? What can we expect re: paying any judgements?
Would future assets / acquisitions be up for grabs?

Thanks SOO Much for the insight.

LETTER:

Dear Mr. Gonzalez,

I received your court petition, and would like to know if this could be settled outside of the court room. As you know from previous discussions, my resources are minimal and limited. I am an active reservist in the Military, and a father of two. I have no assets, and am providing for my family solely on my income. Awhile back we had come close to finalizing a settlement sum; however I never received any final paperwork as expected. Communications ceased, so I assumed your client had resolved the situation through her insurance.

Now I have been served with papers advising me of your lawsuit, and it seems we are back to square one. I am concerned over a few matters. You indicate that I was indifferent, reckless and that I made no attempts to avoid the accident. The sad reality is that I did not see her; else I would have been able to avoid an accident all together. No one truly causes an accident intentionally. You also indicate that I failed to apply my brakes. Again, this is because I was unaware of her being there. Her passenger side doors are where the damage occurred. It would seem that she tried to go around me, rather than wait for me to complete my U turn. Both doors were damaged by the jeep’s fender, which would imply that she did not stop when impact was made. If anyone showed disregard and recklessness, could it not be argued that it was in fact on your client’s part?

Another concern is that your client is seeking compensation for her medical care and physical injuries. I believe that is a fair request, so long as the injury is a result of the accident. The medical records you have sent thus far cast doubt in regards to the legitimacy of her claim. The accident occurred a few miles outside of a school zone in a residential area. She should have been going no more than 30mph, from a speed of the 20mph school zone limit. I was attempting a U turn and could not have been going more than 4 mph. My point is that there was not enough speed to be the cause of said wrist injury. According to the doctor’s report, the treatment she is receiving for her wrist is that of one that is sustained from long term wear and tear (similar to carpal tunnel). It is unfair and wrong to ask that I be responsible for such costs.

At this point, I would like to resolve this matter in an expedient and polite manner. However, I also expect fair and reasonable terms. I believe that your client is entitled to the cost of her car repair which you list as $2000, plus her out of pocket cost for the ambulance ride and ER visit (meaning co pay / her cost and not any other party’s cost such as insurance, etc.). Should the ER discharge papers indicate that she in fact has an actual injury resulting from the accident, then I ask that you send me a copy. If we could in fact settle this outside of court, then we can avoid further unnecessary headaches and costs (allowing more money to your client rather than court costs, lawyer fees, etc.).

Another concern is that you have filed the lawsuit with our old and incorrect address. You have had our current contact info. Past correspondence and phone calls from you have our current address, so it is puzzling that you would revert to invalid contact information 2 years later. Please update your information again and refer all contact to me at:

I will await for further correspondence from you. I ask that you send us an expected settlement sum, along with any paperwork supporting your claims (i.e. car repair estimate, medical documentation, etc.). Many thanks. I hope that we can all come to a solution that is acceptable to us all.


Thanks in advance,

[stephenk]

Were you and/or your hubby served with the Summons and Complaint? If yes, you should first file your answer/response to the Complaint with the court as soon as possible. you do not want a default entered. Then you can deal with the attorney for the other party.

[Much appreciate]

Stephenk,

Many thanks for your many replies to my many questions! I appreciate your patience and all the info you'e given me.

I'm sorry to say that I'm not sure what you mean by "served with the Summons and Complaint". My husband was served a "citation" which states "You have been sued".

Did you get to review my letter (see previous post)? Could that be submitted to both the court and lawyer? If not, how and what do we reply?

Thanks again...as you've already figured out....stress makes me long winded!

[stephenk]

The letter is okay, but it is not a proper response to a Complaint.

Like I posted earlier, either go to the courthouse and ask for a form Answer to Complaint, fill it out, and file and serve it

OR

consult with an attorney, tomorrow.

[Much appreciate]

Spent most of last night trying to look up proper procedures for Bexar County lawsuits....so frustrating! I did learn that there's a form for responding to complaints...he he, felt stupid that I thought a letter was the format.

I was reading through past correspondence from plaintiff's attorney, and saw that he was willing to negotiate & offered a decent settlement demand!!! I am so angry that my hubby did not take it or do something!

Finally told hubby he needs to jump on the ball & be more proactive....he placed a call to plaintiff's attorney to see if we can settle outsude of court, and he's going to see if an atty will see him later today.

Hopefully, her lawyer will be open to discussing terms again....not sure if I would be if I were him.

How can we verify or what constitutes valid evidence that the injury claimed is a result of the accident & not some wear & tear injury?

Will keep you posted...Wish us luck!

Thank you so much stephenk! You are a fabulous & kind person....at least in my eyes

May karma return your kindness tenfold!

[stephenk]

good luck and make sure an answer to the complaint is filed within the time limits (no matter what plaintiff's attorney talks to hubby about settlement). If the answer is not timely filed, the plaintiff's attorney can enter a default and prevent your hubby from defending the case.

[Much appreciate]

Hello again,

Well we've spoken with 15+ lawyers who have all told us that they we're too expensive and that we'd be smarter to not employ an attorney. <sigh> Two attorneys were sweet enough to tell us that we should start with a general denial answer and possibly add contributory negligence.

Went to Legal Aid who helped us compose the Answer, but told us that they do not handle such cases and that we will have to proceed pro se. So tomorrow we file our answer as such:

"Denies each and every, all and singular, the allegations contained in said petition and demands strict proof thereof".

The attorney who assisted us stated we should ask for medical records and to request mediation. Great advice which we plan on following up with.

The only medical summary we've received (other than vague medical bills) states that MRI tech's impressions are:

1. Osteoarthrosis predominating about the radiocarpal and first carpometacarpal joints with associated joint effusions.

2. Distal radioulnar joint effusion.

3. Ulna minus variance with associated triangulofibrocartilage complex tear.

4. Scapholunate ligaent tear.

5. Flexor carpi radialis tenosynovitus with tendinosis

1, 2 & 5 sound like wear and tear that come from aging versus an accident. I do not know if 3 & 4 is our fault....how do we know it is from an accident where speeds were at max 30 mph for her and 4 mph for hubby.

How do we go about ensuring that the injuries claimed are in fact a result of the accident? Also, what would a fair settlement offer be for something of this nature if we are at fault? What do you think?

Many thanks.....I'm hoping to get your help as it seems we're alone to handle this.

[Much appreciate]

Anyone? We are planning on covering costs of car repair, but are unsure of medical liability....see above post.....

Please help us..'

Thanks!