Need some legal advice

[mjkacmom]

Ds19 just got into a car accident with a pedestrian. He was driving his vehicle, but was on the clock at his job delivering food. He hit a woman's shopping car, and it banged into her, she ended up with a scratch. She also threw herself down to the ground when he got out of the vehicle screaming that this is evidence and to call 911. The police took a report. Witnesses saw the whole thing, told my ds that the lady was obviously fine. This was in a sketchy urban area. Ds did video the woman shorty after, because it was pretty obvious that she was going to try and milk this.

Dd20 recently got into an accident, hitting the bumper of a brand new Lexus. Woman couldn't have been nicer, but that was our free accident forgiveness incident (we hadn't had a claim in over 10 years).

 

[usnuzuloose]

Ds19 just got into a car accident with a pedestrian. He was driving his vehicle, but was on the clock at his job delivering food. He hit a woman's shopping car, and it banged into her, she ended up with a scratch. She also threw herself down to the ground when he got out of the vehicle screaming that this is evidence and to call 911. The police took a report. Witnesses saw the whole thing, told my ds that the lady was obviously fine. This was in a sketchy urban area. Ds did video the woman shorty after, because it was pretty obvious that she was going to try and milk this.

Dd20 recently got into an accident, hitting the bumper of a brand new Lexus. Woman couldn't have been nicer, but that was our free accident forgiveness incident (we hadn't had a claim in over 10 years).

I would have him go to the employer. Other than that I would go get advice from an atty. How old is your son? If he is 18+ he needs to deal with his job on his own. He was on the clock so it may make a big difference.

 

[mjkacmom]

He's 19, and yes, he will have to deal with his employer (who is kind of a sleaze ball, and cheap, he was at first just paying the drivers minimum wage, keeping the delivery fee, and sending them out for deliveries over an hour round trip, on toll roads).

 

[usnuzuloose]

I would encourage him to see what the employer says. This may not be the first time this has happened while having people employed. So in the mean time don't panic. One step at a time.

 

[Nancyg56]

He needs to contact his own insurance. The car does not belong to his employer so ultimately your son is going to be responsible, at least at first.
Your agent is going to be your best resource at this point and will assist your son in navigating the claim.

 

[Shanti]

He needs to contact his own insurance. The car does not belong to his employer so ultimately your son is going to be responsible, at least at first.
Your agent is going to be your best resource at this point and will assist your son in navigating the claim.

Agreed. Don't expect the employer to magically take care of this. The boss might have insurance that relates to this, so your son should ask, but don't count on it. If your son has not already reported this to the car insurer, he needs to do so immediately. That's the first step. Regardless of how serious it was or wasn't, and whether he was working or not, this was an automobile accident that your son caused.

 

[mjkacmom]

He will call the insurance company this afternoon (he is on our insurance), and we do have a local attorney here in town who specializes in cases like this (he's an ambulance chaser himself).

 

[Klayfish]

This isn't a legal matter, it's an insurance claim. This is what I do for a living.

First, I'm very much hoping you have clearly told your insurance carrier that DS19 delivered food with his personal car. Many insurance policies have pretty strict exclusions for such things. So it's very possible that his/your insurance policy will deny coverage to you/him. You'll want to look into that. Let me know if you need help.

Definitely want to make sure the employer is aware of it. They likely have an auto liability policy and DS19 may well have coverage under that. I can't say a lot beyond that because I don't know who he was working for, what their insurance policy is, etc...commercial polices are written somewhat differently as to who is covered and under what circumstance.

Is the lady going to milk it? You better believe it. Willing to bet you that within a few days or a week, you'll get a letter of representation from an attorney. Hand it to your insurance company and the insurance company for DS19 employer. They'll know what to do with it. If there's video of the actual incident, that will be very helpful. Outside of that, it's going to be what it's going to be. The attorney will send her to a chiropractor, who will give a large kickback to the attorney. When that's done, they'll send a "demand" to the insurance company, looking for money. The claim will get settled. You won't even really be involved unless suit is filed, which is highly unlikely.

Again, happy to help. I see this every day, many times per day. You really need to check your insurance policy language and report it to his employer too.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Ugh. Just wishing you good luck with this.

 

[tvguy]

Agreed. Don't expect the employer to magically take care of this. The boss might have insurance that relates to this, so your son should ask, but don't count on it. If your son has not already reported this to the car insurer, he needs to do so immediately. That's the first step. Regardless of how serious it was or wasn't, and whether he was working or not, this was an automobile accident that your son caused.

I would start with the employer. This could be a can of worms on several fronts. Some states say an employer is liable if an employee is operating their personal car on company business. My employer expressly forbids us from using our personal cars for business, we have to use a company car because of this.
And, does the OP's insurance know that the car is being used for business? And if not, is this a forbidden use.
I know my insurance, for example, will cancel me.

 

[cabanafrau]

He will call the insurance company this afternoon (he is on our insurance), and we do have a local attorney here in town who specializes in cases like this (he's an ambulance chaser himself).

Don't discount the services of an ambulance chasing attorney in this kind of situation. This may be your best bet of shaking off a con job and holding your son's (former) employer's feet to the fire regarding liability.

You may have an issue with your insurance company, as this type of use is unlikely to be their understanding of what they are insuring you for. Break out your magnifying glasses to read over the fine print on your full insurance policy and prepare to take one on the chin.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

And, does the OP's insurance know that the car is being used for business? And if not, is this a forbidden use.
I know my insurance, for example, will cancel me.

Yep. Hopefully, OP's son's insurance covers using his car for business purposes.

 

[Klayfish]

Don't discount the services of an ambulance chasing attorney in this kind of situation. This may be your best bet of shaking off a con job and holding your son's (former) employer's feet to the fire regarding liability.

Oh my goodness, no. First, an ambulance chaser wouldn't represent OPs son anyway, they're not interested in that stuff...they'd only represent the lady. They also would be the LAST people who would know how to hold someone's feet to the fire. Ambulance chasers know very, very little about law.

 

[cabanafrau]

Oh my goodness, no. First, an ambulance chaser wouldn't represent OPs son anyway, they're not interested in that stuff...they'd only represent the lady. They also would be the LAST people who would know how to hold someone's feet to the fire. Ambulance chasers know very, very little about law.

Completely incorrect, all the way around. It's possible you can run into the incompetent, but odds are the ambulance chaser is exactly what will be required to handle any scam being run against OP's son. Ambulance chasers know how to work the law in ways that confound even the keenest minds among legal scholars. You want to know how to beat the con, call the shyster lawyer every day. They know how to beat it because they know how to run it.

 

[heather913]

As a law school graduate, I'd encourage you to seek out real legal advice from a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. Most of what is posted here is incorrect at best. An internet forum isn't the place to ask for legal advice. You'll get what you got here - a lot of people who think they know stuff because they watch The People's Court. Good luck!

 

[JaxDad]

Completely incorrect, all the way around. It's possible you can run into the incompetent, but odds are the ambulance chaser is exactly what will be required to handle any scam being run against OP's son. Ambulance chasers know how to work the law in ways that confound even the keenest minds among legal scholars. You want to know how to beat the con, call the shyster lawyer every day. They know how to beat it because they know how to run it.

So in a nutshell...Better Call Saul!

 

[Klayfish]

Completely incorrect, all the way around. It's possible you can run into the incompetent, but odds are the ambulance chaser is exactly what will be required to handle any scam being run against OP's son. Ambulance chasers know how to work the law in ways that confound even the keenest minds among legal scholars. You want to know how to beat the con, call the shyster lawyer every day. They know how to beat it because they know how to run it.

I've only been doing this for 20 years, but what do I know?? If you think that's true, than I obviously won't be able to change your opinion. I presume you have a wealth of first hand experience with them?

And no...they really don't know how to run a good con. Part of my career has been investigating insurance fraud, both in the field and at the desk. Trust me, they're rank amateurs. Ambulance chasers make good attorneys laugh until their eyes water...I can tell you first hand about that...over and over and over.

 

[cabanafrau]

I've only been doing this for 20 years, but what do I know?? If you think that's true, than I obviously won't be able to change your opinion. I presume you have a wealth of first hand experience with them?

And no...they really don't know how to run a good con. Part of my career has been investigating insurance fraud, both in the field and at the desk. Trust me, they're rank amateurs. Ambulance chasers make good attorneys laugh until their eyes water...I can tell you first hand about that...over and over and over.

Oh golly, I guess working in a courthouse full of lawyers ain't taught me nuffin' about who gets the job done when and how.

I'm not suggesting OP engage an ambulance chaser to engage in any type of fraud, by any means. If I thought I was vulnerable to an attempted scam like in OP's situation, I'd definitely be represented by one of our area's finest ambulance chasers because they know how to defend against the tricks of the trade. If I had other legal needs, I'd choose quite differently. There's a reason it is a big deal if a case with adversarial ambulance chasers makes it into a courtroom. OP doesn't want this to wind up in a courtroom, too expensive.

 

[heather913]

Oh golly, I guess working in a courthouse full of lawyers ain't taught me nuffin' about who gets the job done when and how.

I'm not suggesting OP engage an ambulance chaser to engage in any type of fraud, by any means. If I thought I was vulnerable to an attempted scam like in OP's situation, I'd definitely be represented by one of our area's finest ambulance chasers because they know how to defend against the tricks of the trade. If I had other legal needs, I'd choose quite differently. There's a reason it is a big deal if a case with adversarial ambulance chasers makes it into a courtroom. OP doesn't want this to wind up in a courtroom, too expensive.

This is probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You should leave the lawyering to actual lawyers.

If I was vulnerable to a scam, I'd hire a REAL attorney who is taken seriously in the legal community. That is who is going to protect your interest. I'd never hire someone who I know takes advantage of people.

 

[cabanafrau]

This is probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You should leave the lawyering to actual lawyers.

If I was vulnerable to a scam, I'd hire a REAL attorney who is taken seriously in the legal community. That is who is going to protect your interest. I'd never hire someone who I know takes advantage of people.

Recommending a lawyer is not lawyering, a law school graduate worth their salt should have no difficulty grasping that concept. I'm recommending hiring the advocate who provides the strongest, economical defense against a scam. Please point out exactly where I suggested either an attorney who was not REAL or taking advantage of anyone? As for being taken seriously in the legal community, I'm guessing you might have a sharp learning curve headed your way.