My question is what (if anything) I may be legally liable for in this situation (especially ER bills):

I was driving at the speed limit and the car in front of me by (I'm bad at distances) perhaps 50 yards was stopped. The nearest light was significantly further down the road, and I couldn't see past this car to determine whether she was behind a particularly long line of cars stopped at that light, or whether she was just stopped. I did put on my brakes in time to stop, but there had been a rainstorm and I skidded into her bumper, causing minimal damage. She had a small scratch on her rear bumper and my front license plate was slightly dented.

So, I stopped and put on my blinkers, then went to give her my information, which I did. She was pretty hysterical and claimed to have whiplash and asked me to call the EMTs, which I did as well. They told me that they didn't think she'd sustained any damage, and that it was unlikely that there would be any injuries at the very low speed I was sustatining at the time of impact.

Our state laws specify that if someone is taken to the hospital, one party of the other must be found at fault, and that was me. However, the officer told me to contest the ticket and said that he would testify on my behalf to have the charge downgraded significantly. At present it is 'ACDA/ Slow Speed'. I have insurance coverage and all that, and a perfect driving record up to now.

So, if there is no actual injury, will my insurance still be responsible to pay for the ambulance and ER visit? Can I be sued for the ER bill if my insurance doesn't cover it? I'm pretty worried about this since I'm a graduate student and not all that wealthy.

Unfortunately, from what I understand if you are hit from behind the one doing the hitting is responsible. It appears you also was ticketed.


I would start praying that she is fine.

You can be sued!

First understand, the ticket even if they dismiss it, if the other party does not show up to testify, does not mean anything, since it is the criminal side, you could even plead NOLO, so the civil court can not use the criminal trail. But the main thing is, you hit them from behind, so even if you are not found guilty of the criminal charges, the level of evidence for civil is a lot less, and you will almost for sure be found guilty in civil court if it goes to a law suit, And yes, if the insurance does not pay, yes they can sue you if you don't just pay them.

But your insurance most likely will just pay them, which they should and yes, if a person at the accident site wants or thinks they need medical care, they have a right for it and the repsonible perosn will pay.

So turn it over to your insurance and don't worry.