Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

was asked to drive with a “friend” who was moving out of state so she wouldn’t have to make the drive alone. Plan was she would fly me back home once we got there. During the drive my “friend” and I got into argument and she kicked me out of the car. As she went to drive away her truck collided into me sending me flying backwards. My head hit the concrete and cracked my head open. I was bleeding allot. As she was driving away she must have not used me on the floor and she circled back around. Paramedics , fire department, and police came. I was a bit confused as to everything that had just happened(I hit my head hard) she came up with a story to tell police and I just went along with it. (I think I may have been in shock at the time cause thinking back I’m not sure why I went along with her story.) the paramedics wrapped my head (as I was bleeding allot) and I went to the er. They staples my head then released me . The doctor recommended I go home and follow up with my regular doctor for additional testing like cat scans etc to make sure there was no bleeding in my brain. My “friend” agreed she would take me to the greyhound so i could buy a ticket to get home. As I did not know where we were at in a state (Arizona) I’ve never been to, I agreed to get back in the car with her. She acted like she was trying to find the way to the closest greyhound but I soon realized she had no intention of taking me to the greyhound. She got back on the freeway and proceeded to drive towards where she was moving to (Texas) . She refused to let me out of the vehicle. Only place she would let me out was a truck stop (by this time it was the middle of the night) which I knew would not be safe , and another exit that was dark with no stores or any people around to be able to get help from. I decided to stay in the car as I was scared to be just dumped off in the middle of the dessert . I called my boyfriend and put him on speakers he could hear what was happening. He pleaded with her to let me out of the car somewhere where it was safe to . After several hours of driving she finally agrees to let me out of the car and dropped me off at a gas station. I called my family who sent me money to my bank account so I could call for public transportation to get to a safe location that would be closer to home so someone would be able to drive to come get me. It cost close to $800 in Uber rides to get me closer to the california/Arizona border (I live in california) I now am getting bills from the hospital er so far the total is up to just under $3,000 that are my portion of the bill to be paid. Since then I have had to go to the hospital several times as I’m

Having bouts of dizziness, head aches, etc. there will be additional bills for those visits as well, all of which I can not afford to pay. I would like to know if I can sue her to cover the bills as her recklessness caused my injuries . Do I sue her personally? File claim against her car insurance ? Looking for attorney to represent me .


Asked on 11/08/21, 7:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Yes you can sue her, but you're going to have trouble finding an attorney to take the case because it doesn't sound like you can fund the litigation and it doesn't sound like she has enough money to pay a judgment and attorneys fees. Add to that the fact that you would have to sue her in AZ or TX and the cost of litigating goes up exponentially. The only thing I can suggest you try is contacting a lawyer referral service in the county in AZ where she injured you and see if an attorney there is willing to take the case as far as finding out if she has insurance coverage to pay the damages and fees, and then only continue if there is insurance money. You should also probably contact the police and file a kidnapping charge, and in the process explain that whatever you told them to get her out of vehicular assault charges was due to your head injury.

Read more
Answered on 11/09/21, 10:15 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Personal Injury Law and Tort Law questions and answers in California