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dogleg · Nov 27, 2012, 06:45 PM

My wife nudged the car ahead of her at an intersection. It didn't leave a mark on either car -not a scratch- but a passeger in the front car claimed personal injury. The police came and reported no damage.Now I am being sued in a 'statement of claim' for a million. She claims her spine was injured in three places. I believe the burden of proof is on her to prove substantial and permanent injury. We have asked for her medical records dating back six years. What are the odds of her being successful in making her case? One medical report said she presented with a 'reflex soft tissue injury'. What the hell is that and who could prove it? Or disprove it? I hear she is quite active and she was moving around OK at the accident. Should I hire a detective to watch her? No ambulance was called and no airbag went off. Some people see stars and others see dollar signs.

Wondergirl · Nov 27, 2012, 06:50 PM

Sounds like whiplash is what she is claiming. Does your insurance company know about this? Did you report it to your agent?

odinn7 · Nov 27, 2012, 07:00 PM

Your insurance company is supposed to be taking care of this, not you.

dogleg · Nov 27, 2012, 07:27 PM

Originally Posted by odinn7

Your insurance company is supposed to be taking care of this, not you.

Oh if it were only so. I didn't tell you the rest of the story. My wife's license had inadvertently expired. She didn't get her reminder notice from the MOT and it was missed. Consequently the insurance company said we are on our own. I have hired a lawyer to challenge the ins. Co .Meanwhile I am proceeding on my own. Not a lot of fun.

Wondergirl · Nov 27, 2012, 07:31 PM

Has the insurance premium been paid and is up to date?

odinn7 · Nov 27, 2012, 07:37 PM

If insurance was paid for, they should be covering it unless there is a clause I am not aware of.

dogleg · Nov 27, 2012, 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by odinn7

If insurance was paid for, they should be covering it unless there is a clause I am not aware of.

Yes it is up to date however they( being the insurance industry ) have a code that says any driver who is not legally qualified to drive is excluded from coverage. My lawyer doesn't quite agree it is that black and white but I am in the middle of it. Doesn't look good. Typically the ins. Co . Have all these weasel clauses on their side.

Wondergirl · Nov 28, 2012, 12:00 AM

I'm betting there are many precedents of the auto insurance company covering the insured driver where the premium had been paid but the driver, for whatever reason, was driving without a valid license. I would be searching for those precedents.

More important, a sharp adjuster will determine and report that the facts of the accident don't support the other driver's claim of injury. We dealt with this a lot at State Farm with whiplash being the most common false injury claim (lots of precedents there!). Your adjuster already has all sort of evidence in your favor -- the police report, the lack of physical evidence (I hope photos were taken), no ambulance called, airbags not deployed, other insured's normal movements right after the accident, no complaints by the other insured right after the accident, etc. Oh, and did/does she have auto insurance?

dogleg · Nov 28, 2012, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

I'm betting there are many precedents of the auto insurance company covering the insured driver where the premium had been paid but the driver, for whatever reason, was driving without a valid license. I would be searching for those precedents.

More important, a sharp adjuster will determine and report that the facts of the accident don't support the other driver's claim of injury. We dealt with this a lot at State Farm with whiplash being the most common false injury claim (lots of precedents there!). Your adjuster already has all sort of evidence in your favor -- the police report, the lack of physical evidence (I hope photos were taken), no ambulance called, airbags not deployed, other insured's normal movements right after the accident, no complaints by the other insured right after the accident, etc. Oh, and did/does she have auto insurance?

Wondergirl: Thanks for your input. Yes I took pictures of our car-not a scratch on the front bumper or anywhere else. The police confirmed 'no damage' to either car. I assume the plaintiffs had insurance but we are only dealing with their lawyer not their ins. co. My ins. Broker.is doing the work an adjustor would do (I guess) but they are making no commitment about paying any claim. I wonder how aggressively they are pursuing the matter under the circumstances. Maybe I should get my lawyer to go over the head of the broker's adjustor and deal directly with the ins. co.? The adjustor did tell me the company will go along with whatever they (the broker /adjustor) decides. Whether we can get data on coverage in similar circumstances remains to be seen.

Wondergirl · Nov 28, 2012, 08:52 AM

The two insurance companies should be duking this out without you having to hire a lawyer. The insurance companies have a division called subrogation that deals with legal issues and the two opposing adjustors should first research/rangle and build their separate files on this accident. May I ask what are the names of the two insurance companies?

dogleg · Nov 28, 2012, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

The two insurance companies should be duking this out without you having to hire a lawyer. The insurance companies have a division called subrogation that deals with legal issues and the two opposing adjustors should first research/rangle and build their separate files on this accident. May I ask what are the names of the two insurance companies?

The company is Aviva and the broker is OTIP in Ontario

AK lawyer · Nov 28, 2012, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by dogleg;

The company is Aviva and the broker is OTIP in Ontario

Ah hah. A "statement of claim" for $1,000,000: I figured it had to be Canada.

dogleg · Nov 28, 2012, 11:53 AM

What am I to take from your message? If it was in the US i.e. Florida would it be higher?

smearcase · Nov 28, 2012, 12:08 PM

Just trying to understand why airbags are part of the discussion.
Did the car that was struck from the back contact the car in front of it?

smearcase · Nov 28, 2012, 12:22 PM

I just realized how dumb my comment was-- you are of course talking about the airbags on your car. Sorry!

dogleg · Nov 28, 2012, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by smearcase

I just realized how dumb my comment was-- you are of course talking about the airbags on your car. Sorry!

Well yes and the car that my wife contacted in front of her.

dogleg · Nov 28, 2012, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by dogleg

Well yes and the car that my wife contacted in front of her.

I.m not sure if airbags can be triggered from the rear in any or many cars. I understand some can.?

smearcase · Nov 28, 2012, 01:13 PM

I understand that the front airbag sensor has to encounter a certain amount of resistance in front of the car before it will deploy, but I claim no expertise in that field. My original response was to gain some knowledge about that.
Just didn't want you to be relying on a factor that is not relevant.