Ridiculous injury claims...

[tunrek]

I recently rear-ended another car (right corner of my front bumper to left corner of his back bumper) at about 20km/h after he cut me off and immediately signaled for a turn. There was no damage to his car other than some scratches on the bumper corner. My car had a broken corner light, and also some scratches. Just today I was contacted by my insurance and told that he filed a "personal injury" lawsuit - absolutely ridiculous since the cars barely touched. What can/should I do?

 

[ecmst12]

It is ENTIRELY possible and even likely that he was injured if you hit him going 20 mph. I've been rear ended at lower speeds then that, and required months of chiro treatments. If your insurance company found that there's not enough evidence for you to be able to deny liability, then they will pay for his injuries, after reviewing the accompanying documentation. If he's had medical treatment and his doctors say it's due to the accident, that's pretty much all he needs.

Just noticed - I don't know what 20 km/h equals in american, but this site is for US Law Only.

 

[PJ Weber]

20 km/h is roughly 13 mph

 

[racer72]

US Law Only - WHEN POSTING A QUESTION, YOU MUST INCLUDE THE NAME OF YOUR STATE
We don't go for that metric stuff.

 

[mikeb7418]

A little over a year ago, I was rear ended by a vehicle not going much faster than what you describe. At first, it just seemed like a simple case of whiplash. After numerous months of chiro, went for additional testing and it turned out I had 2 herniated discs and nerve damage. Now I have reached almost $70,000 of medical bills (primarily due to surgery and other tests leading up to surgery). You can't judge it based upon the damage to the vehicle. A lot of other factors can come into play (my neck was turned and that was why the doctors believe my injuries were so significant, etc.) Good luck with your case. There are people who exaggerate but your insurance company should help you especially if their claims are exaggerated.