Will I lose the civil suit that has been filed against me and what should I do?

Question

I live in NJ and I am 20 years old, I have NJ Manufacturers insurance but the car was registered under my father's name. I was in an accident 2 years ago where a car ran a red light and totalled my car. The car that hit me was a station wagon and didn't have any significant damage. Due to no fault and no witnesses, we were left to pay for our own damage because the other driver claimed I ran the red light. He had 4 or 5 passengers but when I went to ask them if any injury had occurred, they said no and left after the police report was filed but BEFORE the ambulance came to check me out. I was uninjured but nervous but shaken up a bit cause this was my first accident. Two years later, the other driver has filed a civil suit against me claiming I injured him, and I have been told to contact his attorney. He waited until 3 days before the statute of limitations ran out to file, and I highly doubt he was injured in the accident, but I don't know what to expect. Will I be paying for this?

Answer 1

Rather common scenario.  Your insurance company probably attempted to settle the claim, but the plaintiff has unrealistic expectations, or your insurance company felt that you had no liability and denied the claim.  NJ is a No-Fault state, and in order to file a pain &suffering claim,  the injured claimant must sustain a "serious" injury to meet the threshold requirements unless he has a policy based on the tort-based system, call "choice".

Based on what you have indicated, it is likely he was not tort eligible if he did not have a "choice" policy.  Soft tissue injuries are usually what clog up the court system.

Anyway, just refer the complaint over to your insurance company.  They will refer the matter over to their defense counsel who will represent both you and your father.  The insurance pays for this attorney.  You need to cooperate with the insurance company and the attorney.  Either the claim will settle, or it could possibly go to trial.  

You should have no problems as long as your coverage was adequate.

Answer 2

How was it no fault if he ran a red light? The police just decided that nobody was at fault despite this?

You say he ran the red light, he says you ran the red light, but traffic signals can't be red in every direction. Someone is lying, and the police should've been able to tell who.

Answer 3

I would say that you should be able to prevail. If he hit you, there should be evidence of this in the damage to your car?Hopefully you have photos of your car and perhaps his too? A reconstruction specialist should be able to determine who hit who. I presume you have a copy of the police report? It should establish the situation, or at least give you a bse to work from in your defence.

I'd file a countersuit to get him to back off. I'd say you are in a stronger position than you think.

Astrobuf

Answer 4

First thing to do, contact NJ Manufacturers first thing Monday morning.  They need to see the Summons & Complaint & need to answer it.  I am hoping it was reported to them at the time of the accident.  It sounds like this accident was deemed 50/50 (word vs word) since there were no independent witnesses.  So, the most the other party can collect is 50% of any award he may get in court.  His ability to sue is based on his tort threshold (verbal - serious injury, or zero - any injury).  NJM will assign an attorney to your case.  They will defend & pay up to your BI limit on your policy.

Do not contact his attorney, that is for your company to do.  He is probably asking for more than your company is willing to pay.  NJM is an excellent company.

Answer 5

DO NOT talk to the other guy or his lawyer !  Instead Report this to your insurance company ASAP.  They have dozens of lawyers who will represent and protect you.    ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS do everything through your own insurance company................. ALWAYS !

Answer 6

I doubt it. If they were injured in the crash they would have stuck around to get looked at and the ambulance and police can verify that they left before hand. If they are saying that they are injured now, they would need to have gone to the doctors soon after the accident. And they will need to prove that their injuries were caused by the accident. It sounds to me like they are just after money.

Answer 7

when you go to court, tell the truth and make the other guy lie through his teeth. the judge will most likley make neither of you pay if both of you claim that the other person ran the red light. Tell them that the guy only ran the Red so that he could hit you and then pretend you did it and sue you. And they waited 2 years to do anything about it, which is fishy.

Answer 8

Contact your insurance company and they will hire you a lawyer.  The insurance company is responsible for a certain amount depending on the coverage you have.  They should have already been contacted by the other party to reach a settlement anyway.

Answer 9

Yup. For at least a lawyer.

Answer 10

I agree with Jeff S, they will not win this suit.  The reason is that they waited 2 years to file a suit.  Any common sense judge will ask why they waited and know that they're lying.  Trust me on this case, im a law student.