Legal Question in Personal Injury in Minnesota
Being sued for auto accident
My son was involved in a car accident 18 months ago. He rear ended another car. The driver of the other car was brought to a hospital and released after evaluation. He has since been treated by a chiropractor for neck and back injuries. My son just received a notice from an attorney that this person is suing my son for $50,000 for his injuries, claiming that they are lifelong injuries. What does my son need to do at this point? Will his insurance agency handle this? He does not have any money for an attorney.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Being sued for auto accident
This is why you have auto insurance. Turn it over to your son's insurance company right away. They are supposed to provide a lawyer and a defense. It should not cost your son anything, with the possible exception of higher insurance rates.
I should comment, however, that it pays to pay attention to what the insurance company lawyer is doing by way of defense. In some rare instances the plaintiff will get a judgment for more than the insurance limits, in which case your son would be liable for the excess.
It may depend some on how high your son's insurance limits are, but what I tell people is that they should be pressuring the insurance company to get the case settled for some figure within the limits of the policy before the matter gets in front of a jury.
There's been a couple of times that I have been hired just to keep an eye on what the insurance company was doing. Very few people do that, but if your son has a lot of assets to protect it might not be a bad idea.
Good luck.
This response is for general information purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You are adivsed to consult with the attorney of your choice concerning the details of your case.