Edit: I’m in Texas.
I caused a minor accident last year no injuries on scene or anything. Only damage was our vehicles but even that was on the minor side.
Fast forward to a year I get this letter for the state of Texas that the person I crashed is suing me and they want $250k-$1M (which obviously I don't remotely have.)
My understanding is that my insurance had already paid them for all damages. My only guess is that they want more and now they're coming for me personally? I did called my insurance and was told to call back on Monday but on the meantime I’m disturbingly anxious.
Posted by MoreCranberry3
6 Comments
Just let your insurance handle it.
If they got paid by your insurance company then they had to sign a release to get the settlement.
Was the letter you received a letter like a Demand Letter (e.g, I demand payment of 250k for damages I suffered in a vehicle collision. If you don’t pay me, I will sue). Or was it an Original Petition (I.e, the legal filing that initiates the lawsuit).
The correct next step is to notify your insurance, which it looks like you did. Your insurance typically has a duty to defend you against a lawsuit.
One explanation is that your insurance gave them a low ball offer for the damages, so now they’re suing to recover the actual cost of damages.
Another explanation is that their damages exceed the maximum allowed by your insurance policy so they’re coming after the rest.
$250k-1 mil seems excessive for property damages. What insurance do you have? What are they demanding payment for? (Property damages, injuries, medical costs, etc)
Don’t worry, your insurance will handle it. This happens often especially in states like mine where PI attorneys flourish.
You say there were no injuries but this is definitely an injury-related lawsuit/amount.
I would think in any state they have to serve you (in person) with the court papers.
If you haven’t heard that the other party had serious injuries or your insurance paid out big money, its not going to be different all of a sudden. Unlikely.
Your insurance at the time is still responsible for your legal defense and your liability up to the insurance limit. If you have a decent limit they have good motivation to defend you. It’s unlikely they send you a bad lawyer because the amount is small. Good lawyers save them money.
You must contact your insurance company about this. They can tell you where to send a copy of the letter. If you have liability insurance, in place at the time of the accident, you should be fine and ***you should not let this ruin your weekend.*** Yes, it’s serious, but you have a serious way to deal with it on Monday. Trust me, it ain’t you insurance company’s first rodeo! Relax, *please.*
Just call them on momday, if you have an agency, forward them the letter in the mean time, if not just forward it to whoever they tell you on monday