Anybody can sue anybody. It doesn't mean it will be a successful lawsuit, but they can initiate a lawsuit.

My son was hit by a driver under the influence. His car careened off on the side of the road and came to a stop on its roof. The DUI fellow turned into oncoming traffic after hitting my son and climbed up on the hood of a woman's midsize car and into the driver. A few weeks later, the woman in the midsize car's insurance company contacted us. They wanted to make a claim or sue my son since the DUI fellow had no insurance. That did not end up happening, but I was amazed.

I don't know how the laws are in your country/province, but here, that sort of thing is VERY common. It's a shame your friend went to a lawyer who wasn't interested in taking the case (that's what that advice boiled down to), because she SHOULD have sued--she has lasting injuries that are affecting her quality of life. It's not frivolous to sue for that.

As to the other driver being charged? Again, laws may be different in your area, but here, unless there's a truly blatantly obvious mistake by one driver, supported by the evidence at the scene, the police don't always charge the driver at fault. When it's a case of a red light intersection, the police only get there after the fact, they really have no first hand knowledge of WHICH driver had the green light. BUT your friend could have filed charges against the other driver in the allotted time (here, it's 30 days). She should have.

I'm sorry, but it sounds as if your friend has gotten the shaft all the way around--first in the accident, then by her lawyer, and now by the passenger in the other car. She needs to find a GOOD lawyer, one who likes to litigate, who is willing to represent her agressively in defending this lawsuit. And one who may be willing and able to look into the possibility of any loophole that would allow her to counterclaim. Please, encourage her to find a truly good and enthusiastic lawyer.

With these types of lawsuits the prosecution just takes all the names of anyone and everyone involved in the accident. Sometimes even bystanders or witnesses end up being sued because their name gets into the computer. Unfortunately one then has to go to court to prove their innocence. In some states every driver involved must share some percentage of blame. I don't know how it is where you are. Your friend may be found to be 5% at fault or some percentage, for "not moving out of the way fast enough" when the other car ran the red light. Yes, it is that crazy.

I'm in Ontario, and have some experience with this. She should have sued. You're supposed to notify the insurance company that you intend to sue within so many days (can't remember if it's 30, 60 or 90), so I wonder if the lawyer she went to told her that not doing so ruined her chances. Also, our current premier surreptitiously made some changes to the legislation that negatively affected victims of MVA's as soon as he got into office- for example, the mandatory deductible was raised from $15,000 to $50,000. While the insurance company will pay for physio and compensation for missing time from work, to receive a settlement there is a long process of independent evaluations by biased professionals retained by by the defendent. The awards were never high, but are not as high as they were. Once the $50,000 is deducted and legal fees are paid, one has to have severe and documented injuries to receive any real compensation.

You're welcome to email me or send me a message on f/b if you'd like, Anne.

Could you counter sue? Years ago in the states DH was driving his truck and a fire engine was coming with red lights on. He was going slow, and pulled over as required by law He did not see the tiny car driving illegally in the right extreme lane and hit her. She was not hurt, had to go to 3 emergency hospitals to find a Dr to say she was hurt, got sued went to arbitration and lost. I know wish we had counter sued for everything I could think of. She lied about everything, we got threatening phone calls. So yes, start a counter suit if you can and name everything and everyone in the car, relatives etc.

The insurance company paid for her time off of work and for physio, etc.
Which insurance company paid? Hers or the other driver's? If it was the other driver's insurance, I'd think that would be a very good thing, an admission that 'he' was the cause of the accident.

I wish her well. Is her insurance agent local, that she could talk to and maybe get some advice from?

I really doubt if she has any real need to be concerned, but until things are settled, or dropped, I'm sure she will be worried. It sound like the 'ex' has filed a frivolous suit, in the hope of getting rich quick. There's usually lots of attorneys ready to take such cases and then take a large portion of the settlement, they hope to get for their 'victim'...sheesh.

Sue

Thank you for the replies. I was out with my friend all day today. She doesn't seem to be as concerned as she was. The woman suing is saying Kathy's car was not maintained, the oil probably needed changing, her lights were off, etc. The papers also said she didn't yield the right of way. LOL She had the green light. We laughed because my friend had just bought her brand new car a few months earlier as a gift to herself on her 50th birthday. It was under warranty so it was always maintained and the oil was changed under the warranty. The lights on her car go on automatically. We met up with a good friend today and he said he was sued by the driver of another car that hit him and totaled his car. His insurance company lawyer told him not to give it another thought.

The other guys insurance paid for Kathy's wages and physio. He admitted he was at fault at the scene of the accident. He said he wasn't paying attention to the road and went through the red light at the intersection.

My friend deals with State Farm and their lawyer contacted her and told her that it would be wise if she also retained her own counsel to do things on her behalf.

Kathy really didn't want to sue initially but I know myself and others were telling her that her injuries could still affect her in the future. I know I was in a car accident with my friend's boyfriend and he made a left hand turn and the car going through the green light hit the passenger side where I was sitting. I still have lasting problems with my neck. Also the initial lawyer said the laws had been changed and even if Kathy lost a leg she would still be able to work Her injuries would have had to be dire and she would have had to be incapacitated. Sure the other woman was injured more severally but through no fault of my friend's.

I don't drive and never had a permanent license so I don't really know anything about car insurance except it is "no fault" in Ontario.

I just think it stinks that this woman is trying to get away with something. My friend Gerry said the insurance lawyers will be watching her to see if her injuries are as severe as she says they are.

Anne

She can talk to her insurance company, they will handle it. And they can afford the best of attorneys, not just some guy from the yellow pages. A similar accident hasppened to my DH,and our Ins. co. handled it. The suit was for one million, I believed thety settled for a much smaller amount, like $10,000. Good luck.