Lawsuit Advice

[JTA]

Hey guys, I understand there are some lawyers posting here, thought I'd ask for some advice.

My brother got in a wreck two years ago and has found out recently he's being sued. The lady is suing saying she is in pain, had to miss a lot of work, etc.. I don't really know a lot of details, but basically what happened was my brother supposedly ran red light, swears up and down it was green, but can't prove it. It could very well be he was at fault and is lying about it, I don't know. Anyway, he didn't fight the accusation and just accepted that he ran a red light, so that's his first mistake and by now, as far as the courts are concerned, he ran the red light causing the lady to hit him in the side of his car. The lady and the only witness discussed some stuff in Spanish, so my brother doesn't know what all was discussed between the two. Not saying this is absolutely indicative of anything sneaky going on, but you never know. My brother (and whole family for that matter) is broke as hell and he has a kid to care for, so this is a huge burden for him.

So my questions are:
- Has anyone here been in a similar situation?
- What actions should my brother take besides the obvious? As far as I know he was just served papers informing him the lady is trying to sue him just the other day.
- How often do these type of lawsuits succeed?
- In general, what does my brother need to do, and how much money is he looking to shell out even if the woman suing him doesn't succeed?

Thanks!

[O Really]

NOT legal advice.
Hopefully he has liability insurance? He should contact them and their attorneys should handle it. Possible, but unlikely they'd go after his personal assets unless he has a lot.

[JTA]

NOT legal advice.
Hopefully he has liability insurance? He should contact them and their attorneys should handle it. Possible, but unlikely they'd go after his personal assets unless he has a lot.

He does have liability coverage.

Thanks!

[Mr.B]

"Hopefully he has liability insurance?
He should contact them and their attorneys should handle it. Possible, but unlikely they'd go after his personal assets unless he has a lot."

He shouldn't contact them; let his lawyer contact their lawyer.

After reading the post, those were the thoughts that came to my mind. In all probability, they're suing his insurance company rather than him personally; and that, as O Really stated, would be unlikely unless he was wealthy and they knew it. I'm always amazed that litigants wait so long after the fact to file a suit, but if they spoke to someone who gave them ideas that they could get a lot of money from his misfortune, that could be the case here.

There's a lesson to be learned here; NEVER admit to anything, even if you're at fault; don't lie, just don't admit.
Let the investigating officer sort it out, THEN take your lumps as they're served up.

[O Really]

"Hopefully he has liability insurance?
He should contact them and their attorneys should handle it. Possible, but unlikely they'd go after his personal assets unless he has a lot."

He shouldn't contact them; let his lawyer contact their lawyer.

After reading the post, those were the thoughts that came to my mind. In all probability, they're suing his insurance company rather than him personally; and that, as O Really stated, would be unlikely unless he was wealthy and they knew it. I'm always amazed that litigants wait so long after the fact to file a suit, but if they spoke to someone who gave them ideas that they could get a lot of money from his misfortune, that could be the case here.

There's a lesson to be learned here; NEVER admit to anything, even if you're at fault; don't lie, just don't admit.
Let the investigating officer sort it out, THEN take your lumps as they're served up.

"contact them" "them" being the insurance carrier. Not the potential plaintiffs.

[Mr.B]

"contact them" "them" being the insurance carrier. Not the potential plaintiffs."

I knew what you meant, but it still should be done through his attorney, rather than himself personally.
(just checking to see if you were on the ball)

[Ombudsman]

"contact them" "them" being the insurance carrier. Not the potential plaintiffs."

I knew what you meant, but it still should be done through his attorney, rather than himself personally.
(just checking to see if you were on the ball)

So you're saying he should retain an attorney to contact his own insurance agency? Do you use an attorney when you file a claim?

[O Really]

Again, this is NOT legal advice. But it is accurate. His insurance carrier is probably already aware of the pending lawsuit, as they would have already been handling the claim for property and bodily injury. When the normal settlement process is unsatisfactory to an injured person, they sue for additional damages. He needs to contact his insurance carrier's claims department and make sure they've got the notice of suit (or whatever it was your brother got), and that they are working on it. "Working on it" means they've assigned it to somebody in the legal department to respond. Your brother wouldn't need his own private attorney for this matter unless the insurance carrier isn't defending the claim or if the lawsuit goes past the amount insured. Most of these cases get settled and never actually get to trial. He might be interested in doing a little research on the attorney representing the plaintiff. I'd rather find that she's represented by a sleazebag ambulance chaser than somebody from a top litigation firm.