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I need some advice on what to expect:
At 7:55 am this Sunday morning(in Southern California where I live)I
pulled my car into a grocery store parking space when I heard this
sharp sound on the front bumper. I stopped the car. It was a young
woman who had slapped both hands on the car hood, standing right in
front of me. The sun had created such a large blind spot on my
windshield as I turned, that I simply didn't see her. It wasn't
negligence on my part, it was clearly an accident. I was traveling at
the speed of zero.
She appeared uninjured and remained standing. When I got out to help
with apologies, she clutched her knee and began to limp. She was
nevertheless very kind, given what took place, and suggested that we
use her cell phone to summon police to make a report. It was Sunday,
and the 911 operator apparently told her that if there were no
injuries,to just exchange information. We did that in about 20
minutes--including getting information provided by a witness nearby (my
idea). I was worried about her condition, nevertheless,and I asked to
see her knee, but the blue jeans she was wearing were too tight around
the ankle to reveal the injured knee area. She said she didn't think it
was necessary to go to a hospital or an Urgent Care Center but would
have her knee X-rayed.
She assured me that she was alright and we went into the grocery store
together. I was profusely apologetic as it was clearly my
fault--regardless of the blinding sun.
I tried to call the police myself following the incident. No answer -
but finally got through to a local Fire fighter who suggested that I
file a report by physically going to the Sheriff's Department. I took
the recommendation and I filed a complete report.
I'm now very concerned. I'm concerned about a PI attorney getting
involved. I am financially fragile and have already been contemplating
bankruptcy. I have about $144 in my account, not enough for rent this
month and only have recently secured a part time job that pays $9 an
hour. I am otherwise self-employed, but the small business I own is not
doing well after the first year. I'm single, have absolutely nothing to
speak of including health insurance. My sister had to buy my car for me
following a disasterous divorce two years ago.
I've just had a run of bad luck. Otherwise I'm a productive citizen.
Can anyone give me a worse-case senario? Can I go to jail?
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At 7:55 am this Sunday morning(in Southern California where I live)I
pulled my car into a grocery store parking space when I heard this
sharp sound on the front bumper. I stopped the car. It was a young
woman who had slapped both hands on the car hood, standing right in
front of me. The sun had created such a large blind spot on my
windshield as I turned, that I simply didn't see her. It wasn't
negligence on my part, it was clearly an accident. I was traveling at
the speed of zero.
Surely your speed was not ZERO. Otherwise, she walked into your
car. And if you can't see where you're going, failing to stop until
you CAN see where you're going is negligence. The opposite of
"accident" is not "negligence", it's "done intentionally", and I
don't think anyone will accuse you of that.
She appeared uninjured and remained standing. When I got out to help
with apologies, she clutched her knee and began to limp. She was
nevertheless very kind, given what took place, and suggested that we
use her cell phone to summon police to make a report. It was Sunday,
and the 911 operator apparently told her that if there were no
injuries,to just exchange information. We did that in about 20
minutes--including getting information provided by a witness nearby (my
idea). I was worried about her condition, nevertheless,and I asked to
see her knee, but the blue jeans she was wearing were too tight around
the ankle to reveal the injured knee area. She said she didn't think it
was necessary to go to a hospital or an Urgent Care Center but would
have her knee X-rayed.
She assured me that she was alright and we went into the grocery store
together. I was profusely apologetic as it was clearly my
fault--regardless of the blinding sun.
I tried to call the police myself following the incident. No answer -
but finally got through to a local Fire fighter who suggested that I
file a report by physically going to the Sheriff's Department. I took
the recommendation and I filed a complete report.
I'm now very concerned. I'm concerned about a PI attorney getting
involved. I am financially fragile and have already been contemplating
bankruptcy. I have about $144 in my account, not enough for rent this
month and only have recently secured a part time job that pays $9 an
hour. I am otherwise self-employed, but the small business I own is not
doing well after the first year. I'm single, have absolutely nothing to
speak of including health insurance. My sister had to buy my car for me
following a disasterous divorce two years ago.
I've just had a run of bad luck. Otherwise I'm a productive citizen.
Can anyone give me a worse-case senario? Can I go to jail?
It sounds like you did everything right to avoid charges of
hit-and-run, which might involve jail. You might be liable for a
lot of medical expenses. You don't have HEALTH insurance, but do
you have AUTO LIABILITY insurance? If not, that was a mistake, and
in a lot of states, illegal. The worst you'll probably get for
driving without auto liability insurance is fines and suspension
of your driver's license, if the subject even comes up. If you
settle the expenses without fuss, there's less chance the subject
will come up.
The woman might have serious injuries that even she didn't realize
after the accident. Or maybe not. That $144 in your account is
likely to be cleaned out just by doctors and X-rays, even if she's
fine, if you don't have liability insurance. I suggest that if she
asks for $150 for the doctor visit and X-rays, you jump at the
chance to get off this cheaply, and don't make any excuses about
how poorly off you are. Sell your clothes if you have to. Or
sell the uninsured car.
If you have auto insurance, report the accident to your insurance
company. Your auto liability insurance should cover it, although
expect premium hikes.
Gordon L. Burditt
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[cc'd to previous poster; follow-ups in newsgroup suggested]
"Katrinka" wrote in misc.legal.moderated:
At 7:55 am this Sunday morning(in Southern California where I live)I
pulled my car into a grocery store parking space when I heard this
sharp sound on the front bumper. I stopped the car. It was a young
woman who had slapped both hands on the car hood, standing right in
front of me. The sun had created such a large blind spot on my
windshield as I turned, that I simply didn't see her. It wasn't
negligence on my part, it was clearly an accident. I was traveling at
the speed of zero.
I agree that you did not intend to cause an accident, but let's be
clear here: you _were_ negligent.(*) You were not "traveling at a
speed of zero"; that's a contradiction in terms. You were traveling
(I assume) at a low speed, but unfortunately you were traveling too
fast for conditions since you could not see what was in front of you.
(*) "Negligent" doesn't mean wicked; it means you did not act like
the legal "reasonable and prudent man" and unintentionally caused
injury or other loss to someone else.
[snip -- The pedestrian you hit didn't seem angry and said she was
fine, but nevertheless was going to go for X-rays. (?)]
I'm now very concerned. I'm concerned about a PI attorney getting
involved.
And I think that's a realistic concern. At the least you're
responsible for the pedestrian's X-ray, and if she needs any kind of
medical treatment or loses work that's your financial responsibility
to. (You are not responsible for any part of her attorney fees,
however.)
But when I say "you are responsible", this is exactly why you have
insurance. (You DO have insurance, don't you?) Report the incident to
your insurance company, which you should have done right away, and
let them handle it.
I've just had a run of bad luck. Otherwise I'm a productive citizen.
[snip list of financial problems]
"Productive" -- I notice you don't mention car insurance. You do have
car insurance, right? While I sympathize with your financial
difficulties, I withdraw all that sympathy if you are driving without
insurance, since you stand to injure an innocent party and then be
unable to make it right financially. If you can't afford insurance,
you can't afford to drive, period.
Can anyone give me a worse-case senario? Can I go to jail?
For the accident, you have zero risk of going to jail.
I don't know what your state does with people who drive without
insurance (if that's you), but I believe most suspend or revoke your
license and few if any send you to jail.
--
If you e-mail me from a fake address, your fingers will drop off.
I am not a lawyer; this is not legal advice. When you read anything
legal on the net, always verify it on your own, in light of your
particular circumstances. You may also need to consult a lawyer.
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
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In article <vk84t0hvd9o1lshqmrjevbj2lj4aeu9cvd@4ax.com>,
"Katrinka" <khernandez1@dc.rr.com> wrote:
I'm now very concerned. I'm concerned about a PI attorney getting
involved. I am financially fragile and have already been contemplating
bankruptcy. I have about $144 in my account, not enough for rent this
month and only have recently secured a part time job that pays $9 an
hour. I am otherwise self-employed, but the small business I own is not
doing well after the first year. I'm single, have absolutely nothing to
speak of including health insurance. My sister had to buy my car for me
following a disasterous divorce two years ago.
If you have nothing worth taking, it is not likely that they
will come after you with a lawsuit. Why bother with a suit
if you have to spend a lot on legal fees yet get nothing in
return?
I've just had a run of bad luck. Otherwise I'm a productive citizen.
Can anyone give me a worse-case senario? Can I go to jail?
You will not go to jail, especially if you were not issued
a ticket. If the other party later files a Police report,
you could be issued a ticket after the fact, but that is
pretty unlikely.
The worst that can happen is that they sue you hoping
that your insurance company will pay. If that is the case,
your insurance company should defend you.
-john-
--
======================================================================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
======================================================================
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Katrinka wrote:
I need some advice on what to expect:
At 7:55 am this Sunday morning(in Southern California where I live)I
pulled my car into a grocery store parking space when I heard this
sharp sound on the front bumper. I stopped the car. It was a young
woman who had slapped both hands on the car hood, standing right in
front of me. The sun had created such a large blind spot on my
windshield as I turned, that I simply didn't see her. It wasn't
negligence on my part, it was clearly an accident.
Later on, you say it was "clearly my fault". It can't be both. If
it's your fault, you were negligent. And it is only your fault if you
_were_ negligent. It sounds like you don't know what negligence is,
and what is required to legally prove fault. In which case, you
should refrain from making damaging admissions in a public forum which
could come back to haunt you later if a personal injury claim is made
against you.
Negligence is the doing of an act that a reasonable person would not
have done, or the failure to do something a reasonable person would
have done, under all the factual circumstances at the time. So, if you
_do_ get sued, and the jury finds that you were doing everything that
could reasonably have been expected of a driver under all your
circumstances, they will find you "not negligent". If they think you
could and should have done something else which would have avoided the
accident, then they will say you _were_ negligent. It's a "fuzzy"
issue, not a black-and-white one, which is why disagreements arise and
lawsuits happen. Otherwise, the insurance companies and injured
victims would _always_ be able to come to a ready agreement about whose
fault it was. In some states, probably yours, the jury can find _both_
parties partly at fault and still award damages to the victim, reduced
proportionately to their own percentage of fault.
I was traveling at the speed of zero.
If you were _really_ not moving at all, before the accident, then it
was definitely not your fault; but I'm inclined to disbelieve that you
were not moving, based on your earlier statement that you "stopped the
car" _after_ you heard the invisible pedestrian slap your hood. That
implies you _were_ moving, and stopped afterwards. I don't know which
is the truth, and just because you _were_ moving does _not_ necessarily
mean you were negligent or that it was your fault. But you can get
yourself in bigger trouble by making unnecessary, self-contradictory
admissions than by whatever happened in the parking lot. Your
statements are the kind that plaintiff's attorneys dream about getting
from their opposing drivers in auto accident cases. Of course, if you
_do_ get sued, your insurance company will hire a lawyer to defend you,
who will surely "take you to the woodshed" and prep you not to say such
foolish things when you testify.
She appeared uninjured and remained standing. When I got out to help
with apologies, she clutched her knee and began to limp.
I don't know if she was faking or not. Pain _does_ take a few seconds
or longer to "kick in", you know. The initial shock masks the pain
sensations and allows a brief continuation of whatever the injured
person was doing before the injury, e.g. standing up.
<snipped irrelevant stuff about exchange of info at the scene>
She assured me that she was alright and we went into the grocery
store
together. I was profusely apologetic as it was clearly my
fault--regardless of the blinding sun.
<snipped stuff about filing a police report>
I'm now very concerned. I'm concerned about a PI attorney getting
involved.
Why? If the person was injured, she would be well advised to consult
an attorney. You _do_ have auto liability insurance, don't you?
I am financially fragile and have already been contemplating
bankruptcy.
If you have insurance, the case against you can proceed regardless of
your bankruptcy. The plaintiff will file a motion in the Bankruptcy
court to lift the automatic stay and permit her to sue to the extent of
your insurance coverage. So if you are worried about your personal
assets being at stake, in your case that is probably not going to
happen. Unless, of course, you were driving without insurance, and if
so, why?
<snipped the hard-luck details, although not intending to minimize
them>
I've just had a run of bad luck. Otherwise I'm a productive citizen.
Can anyone give me a worse-case senario? Can I go to jail?
You won't go to jail. It's not a hit-and-run, since you stopped and
exchanged info. The worst that could happen is the injured victim
will make a claim or will sue, and if that happens, you should simply
refer the matter to your auto insurance company and let them handle it
for you. I don't know who will win on the merits, but that is
something your ins. co. atty can advise you about when and if it
happens. Until then, don't worry, and Good luck,
--
This posting is for discussion purposes, not professional advice.
Anything you post on this Newsgroup is public information.
I am not your lawyer, and you are not my client in any specific legal
matter.
For confidential professional advice, consult your own lawyer in a
private communication.
Mike Jacobs
LAW OFFICE OF W. MICHAEL JACOBS
10440 Little Patuxent Pkwy #300
Columbia, MD 21044
(tel) 410-740-5685 (fax) 410-740-4300
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I've just had a run of bad luck. Otherwise I'm a productive citizen.
Can anyone give me a worse-case senario? Can I go to jail?
A similar thing happened to us a couple of years ago. Only two teenagers were
fighting, one chasing the other and ran straight in front of the car (while
moving out of a drive-thru at appx. 3-5 mph). Teenager appeared to be fine, not
even a scratch, and we didn't get a ticket or anything.
The parents sued our insurance company and got a honking huge settlement.
Claiming the kid had a back injury that didn't show up for several days. I
never had to appear in court, etc. and really wasn't involved in the suit.
My insurance went up $100 per year.
Sherry
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I almost deleted this, but the BS about insurance just begged response.
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:12:59 -0500, Stan Brown
<the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> spewed:
"Katrinka" wrote in misc.legal.moderated:
I agree that you did not intend to cause an accident, but let's be
clear here: you _were_ negligent.(*) You were not "traveling at a
speed of zero"; that's a contradiction in terms. You were traveling
(I assume) at a low speed, but unfortunately you were traveling too
fast for conditions since you could not see what was in front of you.
(*) "Negligent" doesn't mean wicked; it means you did not act like
the legal "reasonable and prudent man" and unintentionally caused
injury or other loss to someone else.
Everybody think how many times you couldn't see for the same reason for a
second or 2, even at full speed.
Rolling into a spot very slowly because you know you can't see is far less
bad.
What are you going to do, stop and roll down the window and yell "is
anybody in front of me"?
You gotta park, so crawling in as slowly as possible while still moving is
the only REASONABLE option (not I do not say legal, because that's
anything but).
[snip -- The pedestrian you hit didn't seem angry and said she was
fine, but nevertheless was going to go for X-rays. (?)]
And I think that's a realistic concern. At the least you're
responsible for the pedestrian's X-ray, and if she needs any kind of
medical treatment or loses work that's your financial responsibility
to. (You are not responsible for any part of her attorney fees,
however.)
Yeah, you may get jammed for that.
I must say it was really REALLY smart to get a witness and their info.
Even though the lady was nice, some lawyer or other adviser might tell her
she could milk this, and come back at you later.
Maybe she's going bankrupt too and needs the $.
Even though you don't have any $, she can ream your ins. co. If you don't
have ins., she might be able to collect off her own "uninsured motorist"
ins.. but it'd have to be alot to offset the rate hike and cover the
deductible, which could be as high as $1000.
But when I say "you are responsible", this is exactly why you have
insurance. (You DO have insurance, don't you?) Report the incident to
your insurance company, which you should have done right away, and
let them handle it.
If you're broke, with $144 in the bank and can't pay the rent, how are you
going to afford insurance??!
People who thump the rulebook and say everybody should have it are rarely
people who can barely afford to live.
Those people are also usually pitifully unaware of the near impossibility
of getting to a job or anywhere else WITHOUT driving.
There simply isn't adequate public trans. in most of the country.
Worse, the areas where there are tend to be more $ to live, higher crime,
etc. There are exceptions, but most can't just move anywhere they like,
and sure can't do it without driving to look for a new place!
I've just had a run of bad luck. Otherwise I'm a productive citizen.
[snip list of financial problems]
Too bad that doesn't count for #@($ huh :(
"Productive" -- I notice you don't mention car insurance. You do have
car insurance, right? While I sympathize with your financial
difficulties, I withdraw all that sympathy if you are driving without
insurance, since you stand to injure an innocent party and then be
unable to make it right financially. If you can't afford insurance,
you can't afford to drive, period.
See above.
You can't afford NOT to drive.
Try it if you don't believe.
See how long it takes you to get fired for missing a bus connection (if
there is a bus where you live). See how many hours, yes HOURS it takes
you to make that 20min. drive.
Now you don't have time to sleep. But who needs that right?
See how long it takes you to use up all your favors with friends or family
for rides, if not to work, just to get basic supplies like FOOD!
If you live with your mom, or have a very helpful wife or girlfriend,
great. Most don't.
I don't know what your state does with people who drive without
insurance (if that's you), but I believe most suspend or revoke your
license and few if any send you to jail.
I don't know any that do.
Being $ driven, I think the govt. realizes that they'd be paying for the
room and board (yes jail costs money) for a whole lot of poor people,
and/or illegals, which they'd never see back because if you're in jail you
can't make $ to pay in fines!
Once you're out, if you still don't drive, still no $.
You "cant' get blood from a turnip" as they say, so there'd be tons of
people with unpaid fines. That causes collections and other costs.
This is probably the only case I can think of where "greed is good", as
Gordon Gekko says in Wallstreet!
--
_____________________________________________________
For email response, or CC, please mailto:see.my.sig.4.addr(at)bigfoot.com.
Yeah, it's really a real address :)
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I'm now very concerned. I'm concerned about a PI attorney getting
involved.
What's PI?
Personal Injury
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