Legal Question in Personal Injury in Alabama
My daughter was involved in a minor traffic accident. She had stopped at a red light, with a car in front of her. Both she and the other driver were turning right, and turning right on red is legal at this traffic light. The car in front of my daughter's started forward, then stopped. My daughter hit the other car in the rear bumper. Damages for repairs were less than $1000.00, which my daughter's insurance paid. The other driver stated at the scene that she was fine, she worked at a hospital and her mom wanted her to go to the ER to be checked out but that she was fine. She also stated that if she went to the ER, she would not be able to complete her shift that night. My daughter, who is now due to deliver her baby in a couple of weeks was met by a process server upon her return to work from her OB appointment. The girl is suing her for punitive damages. My daughter and her husband are having ongoing discussions with their insurance company's attorney. Should my daughter obtain her own attorney to insure her interests are protected? Can she counter sue for this friviolous law suit and the undue stress she is being placed under? They live in the state of Alabama.
1 Answer from Attorneys
First and foremost, your daughter should not be under any undue stress. She has insurance, and the attorney for the insurance company will represent her. The most likely reason your daughter was sued is because your daugher's insurance carrier would not settle the case for a fair amount.
Your daughter rear-ended the other driver by your own statement. Just because the damages were only $1,000 and the woman stated she was fine at the scene does not mean she did not become sore later. This is a common occurrence with cervical and lumbar strain cases.
The best thing your daughter can do to make this go away is to put pressure on her own attorney and insurance carrier to settle the case sooner rather than later. Otherwise, she will have to go through the discovery process and, possibly, sit through a trial for 1-2 days.
I presume your daughter has State Farm or Allstate, and they are refusing to settle for a fair amount, and they have forced the other side to litigate the case.
Those are my two cents for what it's worth. You cannot assume a case is frivolous simply because the damages to the car are only $1,000. The noose that hangs a man doesn't show any damage either. The woman may have had degenerative changes in her back which were asymptomatic until the wreck, and a day or two later, those degenerative changes became symptomatic.
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