son involved in bike accident...i am being sued

concernmother2

to make a long story short. my son was at his father's home for the weekend ( we are not married, never have been I am married to someone else) my son was hit or hit a car and the woman drove off. no one saw it but someone heard the collision and saw her speed off. my son's grandmother called the police and ambulance and me. by the time i got there the girl who hit and ran was back talking to the police and my son was being checked over by the emt. this all happen a month ago. i just knew that the girl wouldn't do anything because she was the one arrested for hit and run, she had no insurance and her license was supensed. the other day when i arrived home there was a summons on my door stated i was beeing sued.
first do she have a case with all the things against her; (being arrested)
second, why is it that she is sueing me and not my son father? it happen at his home not minds
third, do i need a lawyer for my first court day?
fourth, by law i know i have to let my homeowner insurance know but why do my insur company have to handle it and not my son's father?

i am so p.... she is even trying to say that there was more damage then there was but she doesn't know i took pictures of the car while they were towing.

thanks

spam

Get a lawyer and do it soon.

larryb

if you are in the US,

support Bush tort reform
and
Edwards is looking for work.

jhuskey

If you are the legal guardian, then that is the reason you are being sued. Sort of a form of vicarious liability.
Second she may have no case at all but can still try to recover damages.
Third if she had no licences at the time ,and I wasn't clear about this, she most likely can't recover anything. Illegally on the road.
Her attorney will portray your son as a delinquent from a broken home with no oversight or rules.

This will probably be a case in Session's Court( small claims) if less than, $15,000.00 so no jury.
I am not sure where you are but it is probably a comparitive fault state dealing with proximate cause so if she didn't have a licence and was not supposed to be on the road and had not been on the road that day then it would never have happened. =( her fault)
And first get an attorney, claim injury to your son and appeal to a sympathy decision.
I deal with these situation everyday and it is not like on TV. You just can't look at it as a black and white,wrong or right, situation there is always a lot of gray area especially with attorneys involved.

JHuskey
Risk Manager
Part -Time Cyclist

Good Luck

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Sobriety is over rated!

less'go

You had mentioned before that you have to deal with a lot of lawyers, looks like it has rubbed off on you! Nice of you to take the time to offer the lady such good advice.

Cheers,
Your patron saint

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The six-pack will be mine...

jhuskey

Well, where have you been? Good to hear you are alive and kicking and yes helping prepare defense and investigation in injury claims is part of what I do to earn my keep.
I am suppose to go to Nevada to testify as a expert witness in January, but it may get settled in mediation.
It's near Las Vegas.......hummmmmm what should I do if I go?

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Sobriety is over rated!

lumpy

Go to the desert. Then go to buffets!

concernmother2

Thanks for the advice... your comment did make me feel better. I don't think that she even took the time to get a lawyer. our court date is set for tommorrow afternoon. i will let everyone know the out come...i wished i had saw that epoisode of judge judy a month ago. thanks again.

jhuskey

If you are in Sessions Court you will be lucky to have your case heard tommrow unless the court has set aside special time for your case. Their schedules are always so full.I hope you have an attorney, if not be sure and take all pertaining documents to file with the court. Judges like those that are prepared.
It is more like a Zoo than a courtroom most of the time in small claims.
Either way good luck.

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Sobriety is over rated!

cheapie

does the summons say what she's suing you for? how much damage. also, does the police report say whos fault the accident is?

concernmother2

ok, we had court today..it was very informal. started at 2 and ended 45 mintues later (time including other person cases). i don't even think that the woman driving the car thought we were going to show up (she gasped when we walked in) i had all the paperwork and pictures. basicly he stated she needed her car fixed and i told the judge she was suing the wrong person and he stated that since my son was with his father, in his car that i was not libilable (spelled wrong). so she dropped the case against me and she is suing my 12 year son it was and is so funny, even the judge kept asking her over and over was she sure she wanted to file against him stating that he was in his fathers care. he asked about her arrest and said that he is going to take that into account after he talks to the policeperson at the scence. (he als questioned how a bike could make over 2thousand worth of damage and she was driving 20mph)
anyway, now my son is really upset. court was simple but scaring for him the judge asked about the accident and he started telling him what had happen doing that whole week. after this i think that he will continue to be a good kid

cheapie

was he at fault?

concernmother2

yeah, she was suing me now it is my son she is after...i do understand about her and her car needing to be fixed. but my husband works hard to pay ins on both our cars and house...we could take that money and do other things....she just going after the wrong parent (but that is another story and she needs to find that out on her own)

concernmother2

he says no, she says yes...police wrote down what they both said...no one saw the accident, just heard and saw her fly off...in court she claim she went to the police after it happen and then came back to the scence...the cop were there (son's fathers home) because of the call from son's grandmother not from the woman that hit him...i got all paperwork and don't have a report on that and she didn't bring one to court. i just wonder if me and my husband would not have arrived when she was there who would she have sued? she claimed in court that she did not even know that he was at his fathers home... me thinking that she thought my husband ( who makes very decect money at the company that she works for) and we have a nice ride that we would just pay for everything....dont know. i just was glad that nothing was wrong with my son...didn't even care about him losing his bike or the fact that she was driving illegally.