What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MD
Back in November my 17 year old daughter tapped an SUV's back bumper in her Pontiac G6. She was in heavily congested single lane stop and go traffic and rolled into the vehicle in front of her. There was no damage to my daughter's G6 or the SUV.
For reasons unknown to us at the time the driver called police, fire and ambulance. The police saw no damage and therefore did not issue a ticket. Fire and ambulance were on-site for approximately 5 minutes. The fireman never even got out of the truck, they just drove away. The paramedics asked if everyone was okay and everyone acknowledged that they were fine. The other driver and my daughter however did exchange information. Both the other driver and my daughter have full insurance coverage under my policy and the car is in my name.
Last week my insurance company received a letter from a privately hired attorney that my daughter was being sued for injuries sustained in the accident apparently to a 15 month old child in the back of the vehicle.
Next week an adjuster is coming to take a statement from my daughter but I have a couple of questions please...
What would be the other driver's logic of hiring a private attorney to sue us rather than go through his insurance?
Also, my daughter distinctly remembers that the child was not in a car seat at the time of the accident but just loose in the back. She knows this because when she was standing at the side of the road soon after the accident, the husband was screaming at his wife 'get the kid in the seat' -'get the kid in the seat' and the wife sprung out of the front passenger side, opened the back door and rushed to get the child into a car seat. My daughter didn't think anything of it at the time, but in retrospect if the child was indeed hurt (which is highly doubtful based on the gentle impact) it was most likely because it wasn't restrained.
My wife and I are sick to our stomachs over this and my daughter is very distraught. We're really not sure what is going to happen next. Please if you can shed any light on this I would greatly appreciate it.
Back in November my 17 year old daughter tapped an SUV's back bumper in her Pontiac G6. She was in heavily congested single lane stop and go traffic and rolled into the vehicle in front of her. There was no damage to my daughter's G6 or the SUV.
For reasons unknown to us at the time the driver called police, fire and ambulance. The police saw no damage and therefore did not issue a ticket. Fire and ambulance were on-site for approximately 5 minutes. The fireman never even got out of the truck, they just drove away. The paramedics asked if everyone was okay and everyone acknowledged that they were fine. The other driver and my daughter however did exchange information. Both the other driver and my daughter have full insurance coverage under my policy and the car is in my name.
Last week my insurance company received a letter from a privately hired attorney that my daughter was being sued for injuries sustained in the accident apparently to a 15 month old child in the back of the vehicle.
Next week an adjuster is coming to take a statement from my daughter but I have a couple of questions please...
What would be the other driver's logic of hiring a private attorney to sue us rather than go through his insurance?
Also, my daughter distinctly remembers that the child was not in a car seat at the time of the accident but just loose in the back. She knows this because when she was standing at the side of the road soon after the accident, the husband was screaming at his wife 'get the kid in the seat' -'get the kid in the seat' and the wife sprung out of the front passenger side, opened the back door and rushed to get the child into a car seat. My daughter didn't think anything of it at the time, but in retrospect if the child was indeed hurt (which is highly doubtful based on the gentle impact) it was most likely because it wasn't restrained.
My wife and I are sick to our stomachs over this and my daughter is very distraught. We're really not sure what is going to happen next. Please if you can shed any light on this I would greatly appreciate it.
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