I was at a stop light, light turned green for us to turn left (left pointing arrow) and an additional light turned green for the cars in the two lanes to the right of us to go straight. I shifted into first, started rolling, and then the car in front of me slammed their brakes suddenly. I hit them going between 4-7mph.

Passenger came out (driver's wife), said she was fine, and told me she wanted me to call the police. I called the cops, they came, and she told them her husband was "uncomfortable". They were Korean and their english was not strong. The cops had no choice but to call for an ambulance. The man was taken away in a stretcher and a neck brace (No joke... even the cops were like WTF he is milking the shit out of this).

I originally thought I would walk away from this throwing the driver a couple hundred bucks for a few broken tabs on his rear bumper, but now I will probably be sued for an impact equal to that of bumper car collisions at the fair.

The three cops that showed couldn't have been more supporting and polite about the entire matter. They even kept me around after everyone left to give me advise. They thought the couple was blowing everything way out of proportion and they told me that they see it happen on a daily basis. The cop who wrote the accident report also told me he wrote it in a way that strongly favors me (no clue what this means).I was NOT issued a ticket, but instead simply given a warning.

My insurance coverage for bodily injury is 50k/100k (I know, I am an IDIOT). After this incident I will absolutely be increasing that to something much higher. I don't even want to know how high this guy's hospital bill is about to be considering I only have 50k worth of coverage.

Picture of the damage to their vehicle:

 

call your insurance company if you haven't already so your claim doesn't get denied. They'll provide a defense for you free. So what if you get sued, that's what insurance is for.

 

Yes, this was the first thing I did when I get home last night.

I guess my biggest concern is getting sued for more than what I am covered for. I just started my career six months and have been diligently saving. I would hate to have to lose it all over something as silly as this.

 

no attorney wants your money, only insurance funds. I did plaintiff work for 20 years and should know.

 

This.

I do damages calculations in litigation (including personal injury) for both Plaintiffs and Defendants and it's very unlikely they will go after you beyond your insurance limits. Given what you are showing the pictures, I'm having some difficulty believing they would even get close to your limits in the first place (unless it's extraordinarily low).

 

This, I know from experience with a sandwich accident my wife was in, where she was the cream of the Oreo, accident wasn't her fault, and we still got sued by the driver the wife struck at 2 mph. Called insurance co, our liability was in the low $100s of dollars.

 

That doesn't seem like more than $250 in damage. And holy shit, the force of going 4 MPH is very, VERY low. Seriously, bumper car collisions are more forceful than that. If the guy was complaining of neck pain, he's milking this for everything it is. Scumbag. Let your insurance handle it. I'm sure they'll have engineers and doctors properly analyze what forces were present when you nicked him, they'll present that as evidence (if it gets that far), and they'll offer the guy a small package, something like $5K (which is still freakin' outrageous).

 

Lmao. Koreans...was this in Annandale? This is my people, so I know they're milking the shit out of this. Good luck bud!

 

protecting yourself from rear ending people?

 

That is good to know, but I am more so worried about this guy's medical expenses exceeding 50k. On the accident report it says he is 57, but I swear he could pass for 90.



Again, honestly just worried about this guy's medical expenses. My adjuster called them twice today and they didn't answer. Makes me wonder if this guy is still at the hospital....


Scumbag indeed... I'm still in shock about this entire situation.


LOL you would have thought it was in Annandale, but no it was Fairfax. I'm just hoping they're morally good enough people to not dump some kind of preexisting injury onto this accident.

 

OP quit overthinking the situation, it will only stress you out. You have insurance, time to let them do the job you pay them for. Relax, take a chill pill

 

Yes, don't over think it. Insurance will dig deep and find out the truth. That's why we pay them the big bucks.

 

I already gave you the definitive answer on this, there's 2 pots of $$ in a motor vehicle accident in 90% of the cases (where there's a 'No Fault State') No fault or "Personal Injury Protection" covers up to "Basic Economic Loss" at a minimum of $50K in most states. IF VA. is a state that has a "Serious Injury Statute" then plaintiff has to demonstrate an injury meeting that threshold (fracture, death, permanent consequential limitation of a body, use or part [NYS]) before they can maintain a lawsuit and go after your Bodily Injury Limits, or Part 2 of your coverage. HIS no fault insurance covers his Personal Injury Protection, not yours (usually).

You talked to your company, there's no more definitive answer here than there so let it ride and forget about it already.

 

+1

 

Watch them sue you for $10mil in damage. You are screwed for your life.

Just forget it dude. Your insurance will handle it.

You should handle your driving so you don't rear end people.

 

Plus I am sure the your insurance company has very very good lawyers.

 

^^^ not always

 

FYI, The TL can probably out run an F150.

 

The basic insurance strategy is to cover your assets with the liability coverage. I'm not super experienced with legal matters but I believe that no court would award a plaintiff beyond your assets, so in that case your insurance coverage would protect you.

Also you have the right to a jury trial and I think that would be very risky for the plaintiffs.

But honestly it probably won't go that far. You may never hear about it again.

 

Wait wait wait. You were in your TL and hit a Ford F150 at ~5mph? Seriously?

Sounds like the police filled out the report properly and Chief gave you the best advice in this thread... so you should be good to go. I know it's a bit unnerving... especially being younger... but it sounds to me like you're covered. Let insurance handle it (I'm sure they've seen this game many times before) and just watch the show (if there even is one)...

 

let insurance handle it... and get a dash cam for the future...

this time it being your fault, but the whole 'roll back into you and claiming you rear ended them' scam is starting to get popular around here...

 

wrong

 

you hit them? I don't see no damage

 

It sounds like a bunch of scumbags trying to get $$$. It will probably drag out and they will eventually settle on the maximum $ they can get. I was on a similar boat a couple years ago and recently the charges were dropped after being dragged out by their retarded lawyer.

 

Need advice on protecting yourself? Don't post any more details in this thread or anywhere on the net. When you get deposed (if applicable), it is likely you will be asked about what social media & internet forums you belong to and then the plaintiff's attorney will seek to get the info posted.

 

I'm thinking between this reply... Chief's replies, and ttribe's reply.... /thread

 

so you're saying you do see damages?

 

get a copy of the police report.