Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Help... Im being sued

Well... I come home from an exceptional day at work to find an unexpected kick in the balls waiting for me in the mail.

I was in an accident about 6 months ago where the guy in front of me creamed the stopped car in front of him. He never once touched his brakes so I had no warning of the carnage just ahead. Once I realized that he had rear ended the car in front of him I did all I could to stop but I still managed to crack the rear bumper of his Tuarus. Luckily there were no injuries, so we all just exchanged info and went our seperate ways.

After about a month with no communication with his insurance company I decided to call them and find out why they hadn't contacted me or my insurance company. I was told by a customer service rep that there was no record of my name or my car in their claim history. Needless to say I was extatic about this discovery and figured all would be forgoten. Since this fool was obviously not paying attention and caused the accident I diddn't feel that I should be held accountable for his damages just because the law sais I am.

Now tonight almost six months later I get a letter saying that they want me or my insurance to pay for the damages. Since Im only 21 my insurance rates are already too high and I am still paying for the stupid crap I did when I was a young and inexperienced driver.

Their repair bill was just over $2,600!!! They are charging for removal and instalation of the interior, rear body panels, rear doors, a new trunk lid, the repair of the bumper, and new bumper mounts. Now tell me why the hell they had to do all that just to fill a crack in the bumper and replace the bumper mounts? I dont see why I should have to pay for all that unnecesary labor! Its just plain rediculious.

When I make a mistake I suck it up and bite the bullet. But this jackass caused this accident and I should not be held accountable! I know how the law looks at things like this which is why I did not persue the repair of damages to my Jeep. I knew that they would take their insureds side and find me liable. The last thing I need right now is an accident on my record because in about 6-8 months it will be squeeky clean. This just sucks... Bah!

Does anyone know of any loopholes I can use to get myself out of this jam? Im thinking of sitting down with a lawer that specializes in things like this. The cost of a lawer would be less than my increase in insurance cost for the next three years.

I can come up with $2600 pretty easilly but it would put a cramp on my bank account for a few months. I am not even worried too much about the money. Its mainly principle since I diddn't cause the accident! I am thinking about calling them and seeing if we can come to some kind of settlement between what I think the repairs are worth and what they think I owe them.

Opinions and suggestions please... sorry for the rant but Im really pissed about this as you can probably tell.

no police, no accident report, no ticket, right?

Get a lawyer!

one option would be deny, deny, deny. -but i don't know how far that could get you. in all actuality though, he has no way of proving it.

if you've got a family lawyer, go talk to him about the situation and see what he thinks. if not, ask around and see if anyone you know has a lawyer, and ask for a hook-up. that's usually the best way to go about getting a lawyer for less-than-normal cost.

i imagine he might tell you to talk to your insurance company as well. maybe tell them about the accident, and that all that you damaged was the back bumper, not the front of the car (although that would be a pretty amazing rear-ending), and told the other person that you had planned on paying for it out-of-pocket (even if you didn't...).

seriously though, talk with a lawyer, and explain to him that there's no record of the accident.

you should be able to get out of this BS.

Im concerned because I dont know how much information they have on me. Obviously someone lost my info somewhere or else they would have just gon to my insurance company in the first place. As far as I know right now all they have is a name and an address.

who is the letter from and what does it actually say?

You really seem to be acting guilty of something...are being honest with us?

The letter is from his insurance company. In a nutshell it sais that they paid out $2600 to fix the rear end of this guys car and they want me to pay them back. It also includes an itomised repair bill.