Car Accident

[Irene]

My brother he got car accident for hitted the person last month. That was a raining day. My brother was stop on the STOP sign, and then turn to left side to parked the car. And then there was the lady ran out , my brother didn't see her run out, and hitted her by the car. Between the lady ran out to across the park lot and my brother turned left, there was a tree blocked the view to see another side.(which means blocked the sight for my brother to see the lady and for the lady to see the car)

And now, The lady, she got bady(18 weeks), and the bady was abortion because of this accident. My brother did not know she got a bady and the bady had abortion until he found out from the insurance company. Our insurance company was attempting to settle the lady, and the insurance company sent a lettle to my brother and said,"You have the right to employ an attorney of your choice, at your expense, to represent that portion of the damages which may exceed the liability limit of your policy." The insurance gave this notify to my brother, is that mean the lady suing my brother now? If so, what should my brother need to do? Does my brother have right on this case? Does my brother need to compensate to this lady? If need to compensate, how much will that be?

 

[lwpat]

This means that your brother is being sued for damages in the accident. The lady will have sympathy on her side which may outweigh the facts of the case.

The insurance company is notifying him that the amount awarded as damages may exceed the limits of his policy and that he can be held personally responsible for the difference. That means that a judgement will be entered and his property and possibly wages could be attached.

If your brother received a trafic ticket for the accident then there is an excellent chance that the damages awarded will be a very large sum. I suggest that he talk to the attorney assigned by the insurance company as soon as possible. Then he can decide if he needs to retain his own attorney.

 

[Irene]

Thank you for your replied! I have one more question. In this case, was that totally my brother's fault cause this accident?

 

[lwpat]

That will be something for the court/jury to decide.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

lwpat has explained this well. What I would like to add is that your insurance company only covers so much. They may only cover collision damages to your car and not for personal injury to people, which is what is alluded to in the reply.

The advice given here is good and the insurance company's attorney will likely have seen many cases like this one. While a ticket is a factor, looking at the police report that justifies the ticket is another -- the officer was not at the scene to view what happened and the ticket may not have been justified. As you can see, there are many facts and circumstances that we don't have here that could sway the case in either direction and the insurance company's attorney probably has them all and is in the best position to make a good assessment of the course of action to take.

Originally posted by Irene
My brother he got car accident for hitted the person last month. That was a raining day. My brother was stop on the STOP sign, and then turn to left side to parked the car. And then there was the lady ran out , my brother didn't see her run out, and hitted her by the car. Between the lady ran out to across the park lot and my brother turned left, there was a tree blocked the view to see another side.(which means blocked the sight for my brother to see the lady and for the lady to see the car)

And now, The lady, she got bady(18 weeks), and the bady was abortion because of this accident. My brother did not know she got a bady and the bady had abortion until he found out from the insurance company. Our insurance company was attempting to settle the lady, and the insurance company sent a lettle to my brother and said,"You have the right to employ an attorney of your choice, at your expense, to represent that portion of the damages which may exceed the liability limit of your policy." The insurance gave this notify to my brother, is that mean the lady suing my brother now? If so, what should my brother need to do? Does my brother have right on this case? Does my brother need to compensate to this lady? If need to compensate, how much will that be?

This means that your brother is being sued for damages in the accident. The lady will have sympathy on her side which may outweigh the facts of the case.

The insurance company is notifying him that the amount awarded as damages may exceed the limits of his policy and that he can be held personally responsible for the difference. That means that a judgement will be entered and his property and possibly wages could be attached.

If your brother received a trafic ticket for the accident then there is an excellent chance that the damages awarded will be a very large sum. I suggest that he talk to the attorney assigned by the insurance company as soon as possible. Then he can decide if he needs to retain his own attorney.