I bumped into a guy's car in the car wash and now he's SUING me!

[CTyankee]

And I have very good insurance that paid for the damage on his rear bumper and even his chiropractic bills!

As you can imagine, I wasn't going very fast on the conveyor belt. I was not familiar with going thru car washes and didn't get the car in neutral fast enough, so it was my fault. His complaint said he lost wages cuz of his "injuries" and also that I didn't "signal" (???).

Since I don't have deep pockets (and no employer; I'm retired), I am assuming he (and the lawyer he hired) think they can get more $$$ out of the insurance company as a settlement.

Of course, my insurance company is handling this, but I think this guy is really a little crazy...

[knitter4democracy]

1. Your insurance company will probably settle.

It'll cost more to go to court than to settle. And yes, he's nuts.

[Deja Q]

2. Dang. A chiropractor fucked me up for life and I didn't sue...

Neither did a former "doctor".

I need to stop being so nice...

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. But you got Beaker thrown into jail for trashing your kitchen...

What did you expect when you invited him over?

:cry:

[MissMillie]

3. I always wait until the car in front of me is about half way through

before I enter the wash myself.

[CTyankee]

8. There was a line so I had no choice and I really didn't think of it

being a problem. The funny thing is that a lawyer would think it worth his/her while to pursue, it is such a small amount of money.

[kwassa]

4. they only go after your insurance policy

and the limits of your policy are stated on it. Virtually no claimant goes beyond that, because they assume you don't have the pockets for it. This is a minor case, anyways, could be a little bogus, but they will give him a little money to go away.

This is pretty common, I was an adjuster a couple of decades ago, but little has changed.

[CTyankee]

7. what's weird is that he would pay a lawyer when the payout is so little.

Makes the think the guy's lawyer is his cousin Vinnie...

[kwassa]

9. he doesn't pay the lawyer, the lawyer takes it on contigency

of winning the case, and the lawyer will pocket one third to one half of the settlement. If the settlement is denied, the lawyer can take it to court. You are clearly at fault, though, so there will be a settlement, and it will usually be two to three times the medical bills, however real they are.

It's a big racket.

[Deep13]

5. Really, they paid for chiropractic? Wow. nt

[madinmaryland]

13. When we were hit, the insurance company paid for chiropractic visits

for my wife and daughter. They had a couple months of visits.

[trof]

10. You live it the most litigious state in the nation.

According to auto insurance companies.
When we were living in NH and my daughter attended U. CONN at Storrs her auto insurance premiums doubled.

I called my insurance company.
:wtf:
They told me that CT was the most litigious state in the nation.
So if you're more likely to be sued your premiums go up.
Makes sense, I guess.

Sidebar:
Friends said I was stupid to 'officially' change the location of her car from NH to CT. "If anything happens down there just say she 'occasionally' takes a car to CT."
I wasn't comfortable with that.

During her third year her car was stolen in New Haven.
I was damned glad I didn't have to try and give the insurance company a con job about where the car was 'based'.
Sometimes honesty IS the best policy.
Sorry about your trouble.

[CTyankee]

11. Thanks. This guy really goes to the extreme, tho, IMHO.

I know my insurance company will settle, but the "damage" to this guy is so questionable, particularly after the insurance covered his auto repair (minimal) and his chiropractic (who knows how much?). Not like I ran a red light going 80 mph and totaled him...

[trof]

12. Yeah, he's milkin' it for all it's worth.

[CTyankee]

15. My Allstate agent told me he gets 2-3 of these cases per week!

He calls them "soft tissue" cases!

[SacredCow]

14. That seems to be SOP these days....

It's more surprising when someone DOESN'T sue when they get hit- even for a little tap. And it sucks because the people who truly need to sue someone get buried in the legal system because of all of the frivilous cases.

Recall the DC judge's multi-million dollar pants? Same shit- different day.

Hope it all works out for you!

[CTyankee]

16. Thanks. Well, it's out of my hands now and that's fine with me.

I sent the papers I was served with over to my insurance agent. He sees this all the time...