Can I get sued by the insurer of a vehicle that I was involved in a car accident with?
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Can I get sued by the insurer of a vehicle that I was involved in a car accident with?
I was involved in a car accident 2 years ago as a student. I was driving my uncle’s car and I had no idea that the car was not insured at the time. The accident was a minor fender bender (I have the police report) but I am not getting sued by the insurance company of the other vehicle for over $30K to include medical expenses of the 3 people in the car. They were fine as at the time of the accident so this came as a shock to me.
Asked on August 30, 2011 Maryland
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you were at fault in an accident and caused injuries to another, you may be sued by the injured party. Or, if they were compensated or had medical costs paid by insurance, their insurer then has the right to sue you to recover its outlays on behalf of its insured; this is called subrogation.
To win, the party suing you must be able to prove your fault, that the injuries are real, their extent and cost, and also that what you did caused the injuries (i.e. if someone previously had a ruptured disc and the accident did not make it worse, they can't recover for it--though if they had a ruptured disc and the accident exacerbated the injury, they could recover for the increase in injury).
While it is sometimes the case that an injury not discovered until later is fraud, this is not always, or even often, the case--it not infrequently takes time to discover the fact or extent of an injury.
If yo are being sued for $30k+, you should retain an attorney to defend you.
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