Driver being sued

Pain & suffering.

 

Proving malicious intent will be quite the uphill battle, in my opinion.

 

Google roadlaw . net. I never used them before but OOIDA has then listed. They are trucking attorneys, They give free consultation. They work in all states

 

Just a question
But how do you or any of us know there is a breach of contract?

No facts were ever stated on what was paid or for what
There could be wording in the original contract that claim is paid but medical or whatever else is still open

And for all of us

Yes! A driver can be sued separately from the company so just a little advice. It’s a good idea to make sure you have some personal insurance to cover a suit

Also having the business side separate from personal ( company or O/O driver ) will prevent losing your home etc should you get sued

 

That says a lot. It sounds like the trucking company settled with the injured party and no insurance company was involved. Insurance only pays for ACCIDENTS. If you rear-end your wife's boyfriend on purpose your insurance won't cover it - you have to pay him out of your own pocket. No lawyer would claim the accident was intentional if insurance money (from the previous settlement) was involved.

An insurance company would have required additional restrictions to settle - ie. by cashing this check you are PAID IN FULL for this event and can seek no further damages. The trucking company either didn't put restrictions on the settlement or limited the restriction to actual damages - not including pain, suffering, emotional distress, etc.

Lawyer up!

Please, for your own best interests, stop talking about pending litigation on internet forums.

 

I’ve had this happen before. It was just a handful of days before the 2 yrs was up. In my case I’m the company owner and was sued while my driver was also named.

My insurance company at the time, who I was no longer with, represented the company and the driver. The fact she’s suing for 25k is a joke. It’ll cost the insurance company at least 15 to 20k to even look into this mess. She just wants a quick pay off.

In my case it was for 1 million and drug out for about a year before the two sides struck an agreement at the end of the deposition.

I would contact the carrier who he worked for and request the contact info of their insurance company at the time. Call them and see what they say and make sure they are aware. My driver never had his own attorney and was fine. If you’ve ever actually hired an attorney before then you’ll know that $250 to $300 per hour adds up extremely quickly. It may be unnecessary.

It’s extremely easy to spend 7 to 10 grand just talking the case over and doing initial research. Just think, it only takes 83 hours to hit 25k. Contact the insurance company and get the name of the attorney who will be representing you. Then call them. This is my OPINION. You make your own decision.

Let me know where to send the bill. It took me 15 minutes to do that. That’ll be $75

 

I was a paralegal for 10 years, mostly on the defense side. From the original post, it's impossible to tell if the company's insurance company actually settled with the claimant. All that's said is "The company he worked for took care of everything regarding expenses from the accident." I can't tell what expenses are being referred to. Fixing the truck? Fixing the car? Paying the lady's medical bills? Can't tell.

My guess is that the insurance company hasn't come to an agreement with her yet, so the lawsuit was filed before the two year statute of limitations ran just to preserve the claim.

The first thing I would do is call the company and ask them if their insurance company has hired a lawyer. It doesn't matter too much that he no longer works for the company. The fact is he worked for them at the time the claim arose.

If yes, get the name and number of the lawyer and call them. Find out what's going on. Ask if they're going to represent your husband. If they say yes, they are, make sure they have your address and ask for a copy of any pleadings they file on his behalf.

If you can't find out or they say they're not going to file an answer on his behalf, find a lawyer. You want one who does defense work on civil cases. They aren't cheap, but generally they should be able to file an answer for you to protect you without too much expense.

The main thing is to make sure an answer to the complaint is filed within 30 days. You don't want a default judgment entered against you.

As far as the language about malice, doing it intentionally, unfit to operate the vehicle, etc.: don't lose any sleep over that. It's nothing personal, it's just boilerplate added to the complaint.

So, make sure an answer gets filed, and keep bugging whatever lawyer you end up with until you get a dismissal in writing and a stamp showing it has been filed with the court.

 

That is usually incorrect, but you have to make sure that they have agreed to represent you. Most insurance policies have language stating they will defend an employee involved in a wreck. Plaintiff's lawyers know the company has the deep pockets, not the employee. They include the employee in the lawsuit because that is who actually caused the wreck, but they're after the money in the insurance policy. And it's in the insurer's (and the company's) interests to make sure the employee is defended so they don't turn on them.

I could tell you a story where the strategy of turning a small defendant against a big defendant in a truck wreck case backfired for both the plaintiff and the little guy who was scared by the plaintiff's lawyer into taking their side, but I won't. The point is that the truck driver was protected by the trucking company and its insurance company.

 

Don’t worry about it. That’s why the companies have and pay for insurance. Yes..... you’ll get a letter in the mail from there attorney but that seems to be protocol for law firms. I’ve received letters way back saying if the insurance company pays out there max limits and it’s not enough, they will come after you for the balance. It’s a scare tactic if you ask me. Bottom line, let the insurance company handle.

Edit:
They just maybe might call him in for a Disposition. That’s it.

 

Call Johnnie Cochran.....he always helps me out in tough legal situations. In all seriousness, though, everyone already gave sound advice. I'd only be echoing.