So I finally know how much I am getting sued for.... help me gather 'evidence' to refute her claim.

[The Stigenator]

So I had a pedestrian vs. vehicle accident in October 1, 2007. I thought I would get the scientific brains behind ATOT to beat them at their own game.

My insurance company offered, they did not take, now I am being sued for 15K, though my insurance company says that most likely it will probably go past that. My coverages back then were 15/30K Liability. Presently its much higher.

History:

Driving to work east bound on October 1, 2007. It was around 8:15 am, sun was in my eyes, peeking in between the rearview mirror and the roof. I had my visor down. Glare was reflecting off the dash and all in all could barely see. There was a SUV in front (chevy I believe) that went through the intersection before I did. The intersection has 2 dips for surface water drainage. One has to slow down to go past that (my 2000 ford focus has soft suspension due to the age/miles).

I was going about 15-20 mph (limit 25) - i regularly used to go through this intersection at this speed but I think that day I was going around 15 or slower. No stop signs on my side (east/west), stop signs are on the north/south. Plaintiff is crossing with her daughter in hand. I see her only when she is RIGHT in front of me and by then it was too late to stop. I hit the brakes and stopped but I do not know if I hit her first or she got hit. left shoe came off at the accident and was located between the bumper and the front wheel. Unfortunately i forgot I had a camera on my cellphone, and the shoe was removed before taking any pics.

After the accident, plaintiff made it a point to let every passing car know that I hit her. She was standing carrying her child while making the statements. I had her sit down. I had called 911 on her behalf. Insurance Co gave me 70% at fault.


How we're going to beat this (will include an attorney any case).

First off - I was thinking of getting the annalemma for that day. That will give me the precise height of the sun at the time of the accident. It will also give me the angle its located at.
Second: I will also calculate the height of the tree that blocked the sun (which allowed me to see when i came into its shadow and hence I braked) - using triangulation.
Third: Calculate the shadow cast by the tree for the given sun height (hypotenuse)
Fourth: Distance of the intersection (between pseudo crosswalks) and the dips in feet.
Fifth: Overlay the distance of the shadow onto the crosswalks to find where I actually saw her.
Sixth: Since I hit her when she was right in front of me. Calculate the time required to get from the curb to the center of a residential street - one lane each way. I also know the standard reaction time of an individual (scientific data) and I can calculate the time required to stop for a given speed (both with and without reaction time).
Seventh: Prove that she was negligent in crossing the street under the given conditions.
Eighth: Quote CVC code that says that in effect that as a pedestrian you have right of way but you got to make sure that its clear and any approaching vehicles in an unmarked and uncontrolled intersection have noticed you before you enter in a crosswalk. Since I know a car went through the intersection before I did, I can prove she was negligent and endangered herself and her child by entering an intersection with a child in tow.

Other Plans:

I plan to check on her public records to see if she has any child endangerment or any other legal issue in the US to dock her on her negligence clause. Need a good background search website. I would use www.atxp.com, but I do not want to abuse my work privileges and access abilities for a personal gain. Choice Point ATXP Background search

Why am I doing this.

1. To utilize my scientific abilities and crime fighting abilities + I love research.
2. To prevent someone from taking it as a cash cow.
3. For all humanity!
4. and finally because its hella fucking cool to beat someone into submission with scientific data. I know I am guilty for hitting her, that I admit, since I did hit her and that's a fact. I am just trying to show that I wouldtn have hit her if she hadnt walked into the intersection to begin with.

I also know the pain involved in a pedestrian vs. vehicle accident since my left leg got hit by a car when riding my motorcycle. I didn't get badly hit but I am still dealing with the insurance company on the other side. They are being hella slow, so i got to speed it up with them. I got hit by an 87 yr old who took a left without giving right of way to a motorcycle - I was NOT in an controlled intersection.

PS: Does anybody know a good attorney in Los Angeles area.


Cliffs:

* Accident on October 1st.
* Got sued for 15K, might go higher, need quality defense.
* Plans on defense, see if anything is out of ordinary
* I need a lawyer!

LOCATION: Valerio/Balcom. I am heading East bound on Valerio. She is crossing valerio on eastern side of balcom.



UPDATE


Insurance company has accepted their request..
We shall see if they take it.

 

[Gothgar]

wow.... good luck

Edit: No judge is going to care that the sun was in your eyes are you couldn't see, they will just say you were driving too fast for the situation.

Was she injured?

 

[Viper GTS]

I think you need to just let a lawyer handle this.

Science aside you did hit a pedestrian, which definitely is not in your favor.

Viper GTS

 

[waggy]

wow..so you were not paying attention and hit someone and her kid? fuck hope you get nailed (as in all medical bills and pain and suffering +loss of license).

fucking pay attention to what you are doing.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: Gothgar
wow.... good luck

Edit: No judge is going to care that the sun was in your eyes are you couldn't see, they will just say you were driving too fast for the situation.

Was she injured?

Not necessarily. There was a guy that killed some old woman when exiting Interstate because he was blinded by the sun. The lawyer pulled up accident information at that area and found that there had been numerous collisions at that spot because of the glare of the sun and drivers not being able to see.

Guy got off by just apologizing to the family.

So OP you may want to do some accident research and see if there have been instances of this problem before.

 

[Soundmanred]

This is the only part I would worry about. Seriously.

PS: Does anybody know a good attorney in Los Angeles area.

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

You're not going to win this. Let a lawyer handle it
-AE

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: Gothgar
wow.... good luck

Edit: No judge is going to care that the sun was in your eyes are you couldn't see, they will just say you were driving too fast for the situation.

Was she injured?

Not necessarily. There was a guy that killed some old woman when exiting Interstate because he was blinded by the sun. The lawyer pulled up accident information at that area and found that there had been numerous collisions at that spot because of the glare of the sun and drivers not being able to see.

Guy got off by just apologizing to the family.

So OP you may want to do some accident research and see if there have been instances of this problem before.

ok so someone kills someone and he don't get in trouble? what about a civil suit?

 

[Jessica69]

Was there a crosswalk?

If there was and she was in it, no amount of "scientific data" you're going to try to overwhelm her and the judge with will be worth a damn. Ped in crosswalk wins.

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: Gothgar
wow.... good luck

Edit: No judge is going to care that the sun was in your eyes are you couldn't see, they will just say you were driving too fast for the situation.

Was she injured?

Not necessarily. There was a guy that killed some old woman when exiting Interstate because he was blinded by the sun. The lawyer pulled up accident information at that area and found that there had been numerous collisions at that spot because of the glare of the sun and drivers not being able to see.

Guy got off by just apologizing to the family.

So OP you may want to do some accident research and see if there have been instances of this problem before.

ok so someone kills someone and he don't get in trouble? what about a civil suit?

yeah, usually in civil suits, you are fucked

 

[Gibson486]

Ummm....you are being sued for 15K.....


after lawyer fees, that is hardly a cash cow.

 

[Capt Caveman]

You're at fault, so don't expect any sympathy here. Plus, it sounds like you're a douche bag for trying to see if she has a record for child endangerment. The only one that should be charged with child endangerment is you. You're lucky you didn't kill them.

 

[venkman]

What if, after all of your scientific research, you prove that you were actually at fault? :Q

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
I think you need to just let a lawyer handle this.

Science aside you did hit a pedestrian, which definitely is not in your favor.

Viper GTS

yeah, science is great for avoiding a ticket, but in your case, science really will not help that much if it does at all.

 

[The Stigenator]

I dont deny not hitting her. I admit I hit her, since there is a police report and all. That one I cannot fight. I dont deny the pain she would have on her leg, since I know what that feels like.

For the one who said I was not paying attention. First off you werent. Cause if you noticed, i was going 15-20 mph, probably slower but I dont know how fast since I wasnt looking at the speedo. I know I go through those intersections regularly at 15-20 mph. I know I had slowed down cause I could not see. I was following the tail lights of the car in front of me prior to entering the intersection. I could not see anything on the sides due to the glare!

In principle, she probably did not have insurance and stuff. Her medical bills have come to < 6K. I was notified that I was going to get sued in december, I guess she finally found an attorney to take her case. My insurance company thinks that even though they asked formally for 15K, basically if it goes to court its going to go double or triple that, and they will only cover until what my liability was. So effectively I need to get an attorney to prevent that from happening. Hence some background work.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

yeah, did she have injuries?

IMO a judge jury won't care about the fact that the sun was in your eyes. You knew that and should have slowed down. The best thing going for you is the fact that she walked into the intersection when it wasn't safe/prudent to do so. She probably thought you were slowing down to stop to let her pass when in fact you were just slowing because of the dips in the road. Anyways, you're both partially at fault so its a matter of how much you're at fault vs how much she is at fault.

Find a lawyer and consult. You're wasting your time here (including my 2cents)

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: Gothgar
wow.... good luck

Edit: No judge is going to care that the sun was in your eyes are you couldn't see, they will just say you were driving too fast for the situation.

Was she injured?

Not necessarily. There was a guy that killed some old woman when exiting Interstate because he was blinded by the sun. The lawyer pulled up accident information at that area and found that there had been numerous collisions at that spot because of the glare of the sun and drivers not being able to see.

Guy got off by just apologizing to the family.

So OP you may want to do some accident research and see if there have been instances of this problem before.

ok so someone kills someone and he don't get in trouble? what about a civil suit?

One of the best criminal defenses I ever gave was for a client who never got charged. Let?s call him Diego. This is a true case, but the name is not true. He had a perfectly clean record, but he exited Highway 101 and was blinded by the late day sun. He ran into an elderly woman and killed her. The CHP and the District Attorney began looking into a charge of negligent homicide, a felony.

Diego came straight to me as soon as he learned the DA was investigating. Perhaps if he had done nothing the prosecutor might have decided not to charge him anyway, but he chose not to gamble. In my opinion, they would have charged him. Diego overheard the ambulance attendant saying ?Oh, THIS ramp again!? Based on that comment, I interviewed that paramedic and learned that many accidents had happened there for the same reason: the off ramp pointed directly into the setting sun.

I contacted the prosecutor who was investigating and he advised me that the family was understandably upset and were pressuring him for some ?action?. I suggested to him perhaps the intersection was more at fault than my client, since neither speeding nor alcohol nor drugs were involved. He said he ?did not know about that? but that he knew my client killed the woman. I wondered: what would be his attitude if he DID know?

I contacted CALTRANS, which maintains a database of accidents on every intersection and road in the state. They track the locations that seem to be dangerous, and they do (in time) try to fix them. They were helpful enough, and faxed me print outs of the accidents at that intersection, including the times of day of the accidents!


I immediately shared this data with the prosecutor. He studied it and said he?d contact me. Several days later I still had not heard from him and called him. To my surprise, he still felt that prosecution was in order. I pressed on and pointed out that this accident could have happened to anyone. Then he leveled with me that the decedent?s family was incensed that my client had not so much as apologized for the death, and so was pushing the D.A. for a prosecution.

It?s usually wise not to apologize, since it can later be used as a supposed admission of ?guilty? knowledge, so I had advised her not to talk to them at all. It now appeared that if only the family would back off, the D.A. would probably drop the case. This is crucial information that no prosecutor would ever give to a suspect directly. I compromised and had my client write a heartfelt note of condolences, blaming the sun and the bad design of the bus pad and offering his prayers for their mother. The case was dropped.

Now had my client talked directly to the police, they would have just gone about gathering evidence against him, including his own words, not developing the facts that exonerate him. If he had called the family directly, they might have argued about ?fault? or worse still, there might have been offense taken, or a disagreement about what he said. By letting his attorney intercede on his behalf, the felony charge was never filed, without any risk of worsening his position legally.

By Brian Dinday, defense lawyer in San Francisco.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
I dont deny not hitting her. I admit I hit her, since there is a police report and all. That one I cannot fight. I dont deny the pain she would have on her leg, since I know what that feels like.

For the one who said I was not paying attention. First off you werent. Cause if you noticed, i was going 15-20 mph, probably slower but I dont know how fast since I wasnt looking at the speedo. I know I go through those intersections regularly at 15-20 mph. I know I had slowed down cause I could not see. I was following the tail lights of the car in front of me prior to entering the intersection. I could not see anything on the sides due to the glare!

In principle, she probably did not have insurance and stuff. Her medical bills have come to < 6K. I was notified that I was going to get sued in december, I guess she finally found an attorney to take her case. My insurance company thinks that even though they asked formally for 15K, basically if it goes to court its going to go double or triple that, and they will only cover until what my liability was. So effectively I need to get an attorney to prevent that from happening. Hence some background work.

well...if you had a lawayer that as worth a dam, he would do all that research for you.

 

[The Stigenator]

First off... to answer questions .. there was no cross walk in that location in my direction.

Location of accident. I am heading east bound on Valerio towards White Oak. She was crossing cross Valerio on the eastern side of Balcom

Second I am not cheapening it out by not getting an attorney, i'll need one thats for sure. I need to find one. My friend who is an attorney is out of the country until october. This will go to trial before then.

Third: I know if the scientific evidence does prove i am at fault, i wont present it.
Fourth: There is nothing wrong on doing a background check - its due diligence. You should try it.

 

[BoomerD]

Good guy or not, if you hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk, YOU are at fault. You can spew all the bullshit reasons to try to deflect liability you want, but in the end, YOU HIT A PEDESTRIAN IN A CROSSWALK. Yes, the pedestrian is required to ensure that they are not stepping in front of a car that has no time to stop, (can't jump in front of a moving auto) but that really doesn't sound like the case here.
If they had any injuries at all, you're lucky they're only asking for $15K. Most injury attorneys would start at $50-$150K.

 

[yllus]

You might be getting older, but you sure ain't getting any smarter.

 

[The Stigenator]

i know lawyers, they dont do any research.. trust me.. i work for the state.. I know how our attorney's work. The paralegal people are the ones who do the work. And lord help them.. cause they arent exactly scientific in that sense.. they may not even look towards angle of the sun or the distance of the shadow cast or even the braking/reaction time.

The attorney can do his own thing, i'll just show him what I have on my side.

 

[The Stigenator]

okay first off.. she wasnt bleeding.. she got herself into the ambulance by herself. She wasnt holding her left leg (like i did when i got hit by car a month ago) - i was bleeding a bit when i got hit and that was through my protective gear.

Second.. you can bring all your opinions.. I know I am guilty on hitting her. But the point is that should she have got into the crosswalk knowing that she has her child and knowing that there was a car approaching.

I am not defending myself from the fact that I hit her, i know i hit her, i admit it. She can get whatever money she wants to ease the medical bills. But like my lawyer friend who is in india right now said, most likely she will up the $ once I respond to the suit. That 15K is standard practice since most ppl have only basic liability. Your Out of Pocket expense is gonna be much higher cause when they sue in court they will ask more. What they are asking the insurance company is what they are hoping to get. But in reality thats not what they would ask for when it goes to court.

 

[waggy]

the judge wont give a shit if she does have a history of child endangerment. because it don't matter in this.

As a driver you always need to be ont eh watch out for peds. you werent. you hit one and are at fault.

i really hope you get nailed.

 

[The Stigenator]

Look at this link and look at google street view going east bound..

you'll see the road, and the tree on the right, but most of all, see the sun on the left side. Google must have gone through that intersection mighty early in the morning.

Look at street view for this intersection!