Your premise about downshifting is 100% correct. As a motorcyclist who has had more close calls than I care to remember, I’ve veered, swerved, downshifted, rolled the throttle on, slammed on the brakes, and even probably said a quick prayer at times.
In a situation like that one often reacts without thinking and it’s only later that one really remembers any action taken.
You need to remember that the lawyer who is suing you is working on commission, usually 50%…If they persist in their quest for $850K, you need to look into emigrating to another country or face a lifetime of wage garnishment. You need to TALK directly with your lawyer to see what your options are… If you don’t have a Passport, I would get one NOW…
I’d like to point out something that I did not see mentioned by others.
Change lanes slowly to give a biker time to get out of the way or to blow the horn. Works no matter what you or others are driving or riding.
As I see it, the biker had the wrong response; should have slowed or at least gone over to the edge of the road unless your brother was going much less than the speed limit. It sounds like the biker did nothing smart to avoid the accident. On a paved road, if that is what it was, there typically is room for a car and a bike at one side. I have ridden bikes for many thousands of miles. Such a car driver could not ever touch me!
The lawyer is doing what lawyers do; reach for the moon and you might get halfway there. They know full well that you don’t have the bucks. A serious injury to the left leg with no long term residual impact? If no long term effect then the settlement is not worth $850K by a long shot in my opinion but you do need a lawyer at this point to tell you your limit of liability if your brother was driving. They may try to strongly imply a long term impact to possibly overstate the case for more money so you may need to hire a doctor too; your lawyer will do it for you. Get a good, high powered lawyer. A really good lawyer can turn black into white or vice versa in front of a jury.
More on this. Your brother needs to put together an account from memory, exactly what happened. Where he was, date, time of day, weather, how fast he was going, direction of travel, number of lanes, lane he was in, traffic conditions, traffic in the lane to his right, where he was going and whether he was late for his destination, if he knew exactly where he intended to go; anything that comes to mind about the accident whether he thinks it important or not. Be as truthful as possible to the best of his memory as your lawyer must operate from the truth, not from what you wish the truth was. Actually, this should have been done the same day of the accident and a lawyer would have told you that. If the truth as he sees it does not agree with the police report, that is fine. The police did not see the accident happen; don’t always get it right.
Although you as the owner of the car may be legally responsible for insuring your car, I can’t quite see a jury handing your financial life away if you come across as sincere, honest and reasonably likable. After all, as a practical matter, you were not driving the car, your brother was. The other person’s lawyer might be trying to take you to the cleaners as you don’t have a lawyer. It’s his job to get as much money as possible for his client and your lawyer’s job to prevent that. Your insurance company has no interest in whether you have to declare bankruptcy or not. Their interest is only in their own financial impact.
Thanks. I will stop asking any more questions. I didn’t know that doing this was wrong. I’m not trying to blame any fault on anyone, but just wanted some feedback as this is all so new to me. Thanks for your advice.
My experience says that sometimes lawyers will go fishing hoping for a better settlement. The idea would be to maximize the amount (and that’s how the lawyer would be paid). Sometimes this means that you have to get to the point where depositions have been taken so ALL the facts are available and the plaintiff’s attorney can see if there is an “angle” he can work.
The fact that the insurance company has already offered the entire amount just sounds like bad tactics and may have prompted the plantiff’s attorney into thinking there is something being hidden!
yea it’s sunday afternoon and i’m sitting here (with my right leg elivated and throbbing) paying some bills and writing some letters to hospitals and dr’s offices telling them why i can’t pay them yet. i need to get this done today as i’m going back into the hosp in the am for another surgery to my rt leg. i too tried to speed up and swerve to get out of her way as she ran the stop sign and t-boned me. this happened 12 days ago and i still can barely walk. i have a severe infection in my leg and it hurts like hell 24/7. oh yes the reason i can’t pay the bills is SHE DID’T HAVE INSURANCE. i plan on going to her hearing next month but the lawyer from my ins co said the most she’ll get is a $250 fine. unfortunately thats $250 more than i’ll get. i’ve been riding all my life and the 2 x’s i’ve been hit the drivers said the same thing “i didn’t see you”. so unfortunatly for you your ins rates will go up, hopefully you’ll need to pay some $ out of pocket, but it doesn’t sound like you’ll have to walk with a limp, or develope arthritus in your hip, or spend the next year in rehab. also i’d say you need to dump your leach of a brother (at least financially). it does seem unfair that you were sittin home minding your own business while your brother was ruining your credit and ins rating. just curious - has he even offered to help you with “your” problem, or is he avoiding the subject?
You can try to collect on your own insurance under the “uninsured motorist” coverage. BTDT. I actually had to threaten to sue my own insurance company to get them to pay. Unfortunately, you will be stuck covering the bills until they fork over any money you may be entitled to recieve under your policy.
Not all states have that…and in some states it’s optional.
several thoughts from a long time auto adjuster.
First, the liability is your brother’s. The motorcyclist owns the lane he is travelling in, he is free to speed up or slow down as he sees fit, and it is your brother’s duty to yield to his right of way. The ONLY way your brother could get out of it is the “but for” argument, if you could proove the accident would not have happened but for the excess speed of the other driver.
Second, the apportionment of liability. Your brother is liable for the accident as the driver, you are vicariously liable as the registered owner. In most states, vicarious liability is capped. More than likely, the amount you would be responsible for is capped to an amount below the limits of your liability policy - meaning you are bullit proof. Your brother is more than likely the one who should be loosing sleep, not you.
Thirdly, your insurance company has the duty to indemnify the other party up to the policy limits, or defend you (at thier cost). They do not defend you up to your policy limits, they defend you. The claims adjuster will either reach a settlment within the policy limit, or there will be a suit. The other party can ask for all they want, only a judge can order a judgement in excess of your policy limits. Some thoughts on this UNLIKELY event. You are blanketly covered by the vicarious liabilty rules of your state. A judge will look at your brothers assets and ability to pay, and he will look at the other partys injuries and impact on life and put it in perspective of any comparative or contributory liability issues. For a judge to issue an excess judgement, the injuries and impact have to be huge (read catastrophic), the liability needs to be extraordinary (more than the garden variety mistake anyone could make), and the person needs to have a capacity to pay. There are possibilities for an excess judgement here, judges don’t always but usually consider the factors i pointed out. In the end, you and your brother met the minimum liability insurance requirements of your state, and it is not that easy to get a judgement in excess of these limits.
Lastly, In the highly unlikely event the other party does not accept your policy limits, and there is a misalignment in the stars and the judge indicates that he would consider excess issues you can get your insurance carrier to pay for your own personal lawyer to defend you for the possibilities of an excess judgment, this is called cumis.
Good luck, and you are needlessly worrying.
Amen. This is the most useful response yet. Would seem kind of hard to track down who the OP is for discovery but agree you need to be careful what you put on the net.
Now if you want me to testify about crazy motorcycle drivers, let me know. I was driving home on I35 one day doing about 70 in the right lane. Out of nowhere came two cycle drivers passing me like I was standing still and doing wheelies-on the interstate!! Man my heart just pounded and I slowed down to be way behind them when they hit the pavement. As far as I could see them they were alternately up on one wheel. Figured I’d read about the idiots in the paper but they must have made it.
Now if you want me to testify about crazy motorcycle drivers, let me know. I was driving home on I35 one day doing about 70 in the right lane. Out of nowhere came two cycle drivers passing me like I was standing still and doing wheelies-on the interstate!!
Just like any type of bigotry, you can’t judge a group by the actions of a few. That includes motorcyclists! Your experience has absolutely no relevance to this discussion.
I think we can agree that when on a motorcycle you are less safe than when you are in a car. “Generally” when you watch a cyclist you don’t get the sense that he/she is practicing caution and adjusting for this deficient safety barrier. I know there are a lot of cyclists that are extremely careful, quite a few my friends. As someone who works in the hospital I believe your life is very precious and if you have financial responsibilities (kids ,wife, etc) you better exclude motorcycles as a mean of transport or fun. I know I will never hear the end of it with this comment!
I don’t mean to say that when a cyclist gets involved in an accident it is their fault, on the contrary many cars are ignorant of their existence. And that is why I feel you should not expose yourself to that risk. And I have been a cyclist myself and I know it is fun and affordable.
For a judge to issue an excess judgement, the injuries and impact have to be huge (read catastrophic), the liability needs to be extraordinary (more than the garden variety mistake anyone could make),
This is nonsense. If I am injured in an accident and it is deemed to be your fault, I have a right to be made whole. Apparently, you are underestimating the potential magnitude of hospital/medical bills these days as they can easily exceed $100k if there is a significant injury. I expect that a motorcycle forced off the road would be in this category. Not too mention ongoing rehab costs and any other pain and suffering judgement. If you think a judge is going to limit judgement based on insurance limits or ability to pay, you’re sadly mistaken.
Thirdly, your insurance company has the duty to indemnify the other party up to the policy limits, or defend you (at thier cost). They do not defend you up to your policy limits, they defend you.
I didn’t see any responses that indicated they would not represent the client in the event of a suit. The replies I read speak to their liability levels. I get the impression you believe the insurance company is representing the insured based on some altruistic motivation. Their only motivation is to minimize their losses. Defending a case like this in court is very expensive. If the policy limits are $50K, do you think they are going to invest the same effort that they might if their exposure was $300k?
Thanks for your feedback. I will try not to worry so much. I’d like to make it clear to everyone on this board that my brother is losing sleep over this and he is worried. He has never been in an accident before. He’s always been a very careful driver. He has his license for many years. This has not been easy on him.
I think we can agree that when on a motorcycle you are less safe than when you are in a car.
That depends on which statistic you look at. A motorcyclist is less likely to be in an accident than a car driver. You are right that a motorcyclist will likely have more severe injuries than a car driver in a comparable accident, but the motorcyclist is less likely to be in an accident in the first place. So if you only look at likelihood of being in an accident, a motorcycle is actually safer than a car. It is simply more maneuverable and in most states, more training is required to earn a motorcycle endorsement. Any idiot can get a driver’s license. Also, the average motorcycle can stop in half the distance of the average car.
For a judge to issue an excess judgement, the injuries and impact have to be huge (read catastrophic), the liability needs to be extraordinary (more than the garden variety mistake anyone could make), and the person needs to have a capacity to pay.
Sorry…but this is wrong. You can sue for Pain and Suffering if you were injured. Just the fact that you were injured is enough to sue for P&S.
In the end, you and your brother met the minimum liability insurance requirements of your state, and it is not that easy to get a judgement in excess of these limits.
Oh sure it is…The Drunk driver that hit me had years ago had the MINIMUM insurance…it didn’t even come close to covering the damage his vehicle did to my vehicle AND the two other cars he hit. Minimum at the time was $10k. I think the minimum is something like $20k now…which won’t cover the cost of MOST cars if you total them.
Tell that to the guy’s family laying dead in the middle of 35E last year. No helmet, car in front stopped quick but he didn’t. Head hit the back of the van and splattered. Dead instantly.
I was curious if your in a accident and you go over the max on your car insurance.can the attorney go after your home owners? is this something that could happen in this case.glad you@your family are okay.
Why would the judge issue a judgement? Why wouldn’t there be a jury?