Q: Son sued for $7200 after uninsured car accident in Nebraska.
On March 10, 2022, my 18-year-old son was involved in a car accident on an icy/snowy morning. He was uninsured at the time. While driving through a tee intersection without a stop sign, he was hit by another insured driver, resulting in his truck being totaled. Information was exchanged per police instructions, but no official report was filed. Progressive Northern Insurance attributed fault to my son for driving too fast in the conditions. Now, three years later, we've received a summons, and my son is being sued for $7,200 by the other driver/his insurance for their vehicle damage. There were no bodily injuries, and there are no witnesses to the incident. How should we proceed in responding to this lawsuit?
A: This is one where a simple paragraph is probably not sufficient in trying to assess liability. Feel free to have your son call for a free, initial consult. If I were him, I would consider retaining counsel and possibly a counterclaim.
Tim Akpinar and Julie Fowler agree with this answer
A: As my colleague advises, it could worth reviewing things more closely and exploring whether a counterclaim might be worthwhile. According to your post, there is no official report. So Progressive's determination in all likelihood arose from their own insured's statement. Based on the brief facts here, it's difficult to suggest whether that statement is an accurate assessment of your son's speed, or whether it is self-serving statement to try to pin blame on him. See what an attorney says. I'm glad no one was injured here. Good luck
Julie Fowler agrees with this answer
A: Addendum - Just an added consideration. Hopefully, something on the scale of $7,200 in damages would not make it to trial. But if it was not successfully disposed of in pre-trial, that element of not having insurance might not necessarily endear your son to the court. Something to think about in formulating a strategy here. Good luck
Julie Fowler agrees with this answer
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