Being sued due to car accident?

Question

My husband was making a left hand turn in his work truck and was rear-ended by another vehicle, which was then rear ended by another vehicle. The first vehicle to hit my husband said there was smoke in the air so he suddenly couldn't see. The police sent my husband on his way right away as it was obviously not his fault. This was two years ago. Now he just received a court summons from the first vehicles court/lawyer that he is sueing my husband, my husband employer, the second cars driver and his employer. The person giving the summons said to give it to his insurance company within 20 days. But, it wasn't my husbands fault and it wasn't my husbands vehicle, it was his work vehicle. Not sure what to do. If he doesn't respond he is considered guilty and will be charged to pay the $500,000 they want.

Answer 1

If not already done your husband needs to notify his employers insurance company of the lawsuit ASAP. If he doesn't notify them the lawsuit could be lost by default and he doesn't want that under any circumstances. His employers insurance will provide a lawyer to defend him free of charge.

Your husband needs to report the lawsuit regardless if he thinks he is at-fault or not. When a lawsuit is filed, the scumbag lawyers name everybody involved, even those that are not at-fault

Answer 2

OMG thats a bit harsh =[[[[

Answer 3

Clearly, the fault was with the second driver, and the third.

I think I would forward the "claim" to the insurance company your husband's work vehicle insurance is/ was with. I don't believe there are any grounds for liability, possibly the whole thing is bogus. And after 2 years??!!

You didn't say whether your vehicle was repaired after the accident, but the insurer would have record of what occurred. They would have gone the second and third drivers' insurances to recover the costs. That would have left those 2 companies fighting each other as to who would have to pay out.

Answer 4

Answer from a General Insurance Agent

Your husband needs give the summons to his Insurer and give them a loss report with details of the accident.

This should have been done at the time of the accident. Time is of the essence.

Your husbands Insurer will then notify "them" of no coverage due to "Not At fault". A copy of the accident report would also come in Handy in the event he winds up in court. His Insurer only has a duty to defend him in court if he is at fault in the accident. They will however have to respond to any notice of a claim.

As previously stated this is a tactic used by many shady lawyers, Sue anybody and everybody associated or even mentioned in the accident report in the hopes of landing a default claim on one of them. Failure to respond to a suit can result in a default judgment against anyone who fails to respond.

Answer 5

Tell your husband to notify the insurer of his work vehicle.  above all else, he must show up for court, and should consider getting a lawyer.  Hopefully, his employers insurance will take care of everything, but if not sure, he must absolutely show up for court.  If he needs more time, he can ask the judge for a continuance to secure legal counsel.

EDIT:  If your husband was not given a ticket, this will probably never get to court, unless the employer didn't have insurance on the car.