Small Claims Court

fifi1puss

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I am being taken to small claims court by the owner of the cab company of the driver who hit me. He hit me....yes I said that correctly. But they are saying I hit him. Well, my insurance company is going to send a lawyer for me so thats good but I was thinking of counter claiming.

Have any of you had dealings with small claims court, especially someone who is lying? I am just kinda nervous and need some experiances. I hate that they can lie and take me to court.

My insurance company has been trying to get the police report and is having difficulty. That makes me nervous also.
 

trouts mom

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In my experience as an auto claims adjuster, the pedestrian is never at fault. A driver that has hit a pedestrian will always try to fight any charge because it's their right...but simply stated it is not the pedestrians fault ever.
 

weldrwomn

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I have no experience with small claims court, but my advice is be prepared. Have as much evidence with you as possible. If you have pics of the accident, witness statements, repair estimates, pics of your car, and medical records bring them with you. Do you have a copy of the police report? Maybe you could call the police and request a copy then fax it to your insurance. The police might be more willing to give you a copy.
 
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fifi1puss

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Sorry, it was unclear what I meant. I was in car when he hit me. Luckily NOT a pedestrian! It was a small fender bender type deal. I can't understand why he didn't just own up to it? Accidents happen. He was so nasty about it. Saying I hit him and I am a liar. He even said so to the cops. He was in my face the whole time. It was very scary. He wasn't just a run of the mill jerk, something just wasn't quite right about him. Now I know I was right to be leary of him since I am being taken to small claims court. The insurance company ruled it was his fault and he is still determined to say it was my fault.


I hate that I have to face him again.
 

mrblanche

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His license may be at risk if he can't prove the accident was not his fault. While small claims is not a criminal court, if he wins, he has a leg to stand on that he wasn't at fault.

Something like this happened to my wife. She was almost all the way across a big 4-way-stop intersection when a girl pulled out and hit her. First she said she didn't have insurance. My wife called the police, who said they only had to give each other their insurance info. When the girl said she didn't have insurance, they got a little more interested. The girl used Dottie's cell phone to call her dad. When he got there, he made it clear to the police he had insurance, but he started getting abusive toward Dottie. At that point, the police filled out a report showing the other girl at fault and told the dad to shut up and take his daughter home.

I think Dottie had paid 1 payment on her new car at the time.

When I called the dad's insurance company, they started getting fussy, saying their insured claimed my wife was at fault. I told them about the accident report. They hadn't seen it. I went and got a copy and faxed it to them. They were on the phone in a few minutes, in a hurry to pay us before we sued them.

I told them to tell their insured to keep his mouth shut; his own abusive language had caused Dottie to have the police fill out the report. Without that, probably each of us would have had to collect from our own insurance company.

Accidents can bring out the worst in people.
 

carolina

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You wanna know my advice? Let the insurance company handle it. They are MUCH stronger than you are, and they fight a good and dirty fight. So, just kick back, do what they tell you to do, show up, and let them fight.
Good luck!
 
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fifi1puss

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The insurance company is going to handle the suit against me. (i'm not worried about that so much) But a counter claim is all on me.


I am just getting more and more curious about why they are doing this. I have plenty of ideas but really want to know specifically. I will have to wait and see I guess.
The driver could have left their employ and they are just letting their lawyers shoot in the dark seeing if they can recoup money on the accident. They could just blanket every accident using their lawyers seeing who shows up and if they can make an easy buck? you figure they pay the lawyers anyway have them just file lawsuits for accidents involving their fleet of cars and see what kind of money they can make? It takes only $40 to file a small claims.

They could have been lied to by the cabbie (which judging from the way he acted with me is quite possible) and think it really is my fault and also not know there is a police report that was filed? I just need to know why someone would do this because I can't just chalk it up to people being jerks. I need a better reason than that.

I also can't wait to see what the police report says. Hopefully it was thorough and the most important thing I want to see is if the cop put down where our cars were at when he arrived. That alone proves he hit me without a doubt. Another good thing is if they find I am not at fault in the suit the cab comp. has against me (which they will as the ins. comp. will make sure of it) than who else could be at fault (not a third party) so it pretty much assures me of getting my counterclaim approved.
 

larussa

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I sure hope you win this case. He sounds a little 'out there' and I wouldn't want to face him again either. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
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fifi1puss

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Originally Posted by LaRussa

I sure hope you win this case. He sounds a little 'out there' and I wouldn't want to face him again either. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Thanks. I am glad it is not all in my mind that the guy sounds like a nut.

I am thinking about not counter claiming. I got word that they can't find the police report. I just don't have the time or energy to fight this. If there is no report I don't see how I can feel comfortable making a case for myself. I'll just let the lawyer for my ins. comp. take care of the suit against me and be done with it.

The whole thing is just ridiculous and upsetting.
 

krazy kat2

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Make sure you find out how many lawsuits this cab driver has had. We have a creepy, nasty guy that works for the same company that I do that currently is suing 6 people saying accidents he had were their fault. I doubt any of them were not his fault.
 

ut0pia

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Is he suing because he wants damages paid??? I am confused about what the suit is over...
And- if they are suing over getting the damage paid- they should sue your insurance company, not you at all. My insurance company didn't pay the person I hit even though the police report said I was at fault....so a police report may hold someone responsible as far as giving them a citation, but that doesn't always mean that the person who is getting a ticket is responsible for the damages- they look at the diagram of the accident that the cop made on the police report and if they decide that even though the other person didn't get a ticket there is a possibility that they were at fault also- then they won't pay damages. But, it is not on you- you pay the insurance company for them to deal with it, so you really shouldn't be the one worrying about it.
 

blast-off-girl

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In California, lawyers are not allowed in small claims court. You might want to check the laws in your state.
 
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fifi1puss

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Lawyers are allowed in s.c.c. in MASS. The cab comp. is saying I hit him.
What happened was it was a three lane hghwy. He was in the middle lane and I was in the right lane. He saw a gas station and relalized he was going to miss the entry. He gunned it over into my lane hitting my front wheel and the metal above it. I ended up on the sidewalk. I have pretty good reflexes and tried to move over to the right as much as I could hoping he would clue in he was about to hit me and stop but I think his car was just to far propelled to stop that quickly and we had impact.

They are saying he was in the left lane and I was in the right lane and was trying to change lanes without directional and hit him.
Burden of proof is on them of course. Which there is none. But if they are going to lie about that what else will they be willing to lie about. They'll probably pay someone to be a witness for all I know.
I just don't trust people. Especially these people.
 
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