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18 year-old son at fault in accident

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cmadsen

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

My 18 year-old son was recently involved in a serious auto accident in which he failed to yield. He was actually driving on a school sponsored event in which he goes to an attorney's office twice a week to assist with paperwork.

It was a gray day with light rain and the street he was attempting to enter the main road from is situated at an angle. He was driving my 3/4 ton pick-up truck and he saw a white car but never saw the car that hit him as he moved forward. I believe this is because the truck has a pretty large blind spot in the front that he failed to check and the angle of the road made it possible for the other car to travel outside of his view. Still his fault.

The accident resulted in a mother (91) and daughter (50s) being severely injured, the 91 year-old coded 3 times on the way to the hopsital and had internal bleeding, had heart surgery to correct the bleeding and was removed from life support a few days later. The daughter suffered a broken leg and is out of the hospital. I took my 18 year-old to the hospital to give our apology and condolences.

Another detail in the accident is that the 91 year-old's seatbelt and airbag both failed to deploy/activate, but the driver's equipment worked.

We are awaiting police reports/citation/everything else.

We live in a small town and the rumor is that we "lawyered-up" and are going to sue. I am not sure why anyone would think we are going to sue, we are instead hoping not to be sued. All we did was set up an appointment with an attorney, he hasn't seen us yet.

I am asking what my legal exposure is and whether there is a case here against my son that will essentially break me financially should the other party choose to pursue it. I have some legal coverage through my employer for auto accidents.
 


Antigone*

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

My 18 year-old son was recently involved in a serious auto accident in which he failed to yield. He was actually driving on a school sponsored event in which he goes to an attorney's office twice a week to assist with paperwork.

It was a gray day with light rain and the street he was attempting to enter the main road from is situated at an angle. He was driving my 3/4 ton pick-up truck and he saw a white car but never saw the car that hit him as he moved forward. I believe this is because the truck has a pretty large blind spot in the front that he failed to check and the angle of the road made it possible for the other car to travel outside of his view. Still his fault.

The accident resulted in a mother (91) and daughter (50s) being severely injured, the 91 year-old coded 3 times on the way to the hopsital and had internal bleeding, had heart surgery to correct the bleeding and was removed from life support a few days later. The daughter suffered a broken leg and is out of the hospital. I took my 18 year-old to the hospital to give our apology and condolences.

Another detail in the accident is that the 91 year-old's seatbelt and airbag both failed to deploy/activate, but the driver's equipment worked.

We are awaiting police reports/citation/everything else.

We live in a small town and the rumor is that we "lawyered-up" and are going to sue. I am not sure why anyone would think we are going to sue, we are instead hoping not to be sued. All we did was set up an appointment with an attorney, he hasn't seen us yet.

I am asking what my legal exposure is and whether there is a case here against my son that will essentially break me financially should the other party choose to pursue it. I have some legal coverage through my employer for auto accidents.
Do you carry auto insurance on the vehicle and for your son?
 

cmadsen

Junior Member
Yes, I do have insurance for the truck and the other party carried underinsured coverage on their vehicle. Each party in the other vehicle is covered up to $50,000 for bodily injury under my insurance.

The insurance company stated that they will have an attorney for the claim.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Yes, I do have insurance for the truck and the other party carried underinsured coverage on their vehicle. Each party in the other vehicle is covered up to $50,000 for bodily injury under my insurance.

The insurance company stated that they will have an attorney for the claim.
Then that is who you need to be talking to.
 
We live in a small town and the rumor is that we "lawyered-up" and are going to sue. I am not sure why anyone would think we are going to sue, we are instead hoping not to be sued. All we did was set up an appointment with an attorney, he hasn't seen us yet.

.
You really need a lawyer...
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Well, it sounds like the medical bills on this are going to far exceed your policy limits. IF you have assets, a consult with a separate attorney is not a bad idea. If you don't really have anything that could be gone after, then just let your insurance handle it.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
I made no judgements about it being "ok" or not. Fact of the matter is that no lawyer or insurance company is going to waste time or money going through with litigation against someone with nothing to collect from. Fact of life. You don't need a million dollars of insurance if you only own $10k in assets and most of it is exempt from seizure. You need insurance sufficient to protect what you own. If you own a home, you need more insurance. If you have money in the bank, you need more insurance. And I generally advise people to carry the most liability coverage they can afford - and for many people, $50k is it. It's still better than state minimum coverage and it will be sufficient for the vast majority of accidents. Unfortunately for everyone, THIS accident was not the majority.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Well it was dad's car. If he has a million dollar house, he needs that much coverage, but I'm thinking that's not the case.
 

davew128

Senior Member
Well it was dad's car.
That wasn't stated, only that the parent had insurance on the car. Its possible the kid owned the vehicle and the parent paid the insurance. Wouldn't be the first time a kid couldn't afford to pay it themself.
 

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