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

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silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,703
11
81
1. Street View rocks. The sun is totally glaring in my eyes. Maybe you should bring the google streetview pic?
2. $15K liability? Geez, here the usual minimum is $1m... and they recommend $5m, which most people get.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,921
5,544
136
Around here it's common for people to walk across the street without a glance. They simply don't look at all.
 
Oct 9, 1999
15,216
3
81
Originally posted by: Xanis
It seems to me that you're trying to use math to get you out of trouble, when in reality it's most likely not going to help you. The people judging you are only going to see that you hit a pedestrian because you couldn't see, plain and simple. I would be willing to bet that they won't give two shits about the math that you explain to them. At this point I would say your best best is getting a damn good lawyer and hope that he/she can get you off easy.

True, but if you look at the evidence with all the numbers, it makes total sense. Sure go with your heart.. but deep down you cant ignore the scientific evidence.

In my line of work, we go my scientific evidence, we cant base our decisions all that much on our personal feelings. I have to prove that there is a problem, i cant say i feel there is a problem.

So if you come to me saying 'i feel this is a problem, its my job to see if its really a problem, if it is then well and good but without scientific data, its all a lost cause'.

So math helps, any competent judge will allow scientific data and rule based on the facts and not empirical data or personal feelings. We know that I had the sun in my eyes, and we know that I hit her. But besides that, the fact that she was in the center of the intersection when I hit her means she started crossing right after the previous car left the intersection without looking to see if I stopped to give her a right of way (I would have given a right of way if I had seen she was crossing - which i did not due to the sun in my eyes).

Ultimately we shall see what comes up, but yeah.. i live for this kind of stuff. Finding data to get a better understanding of the problem, cause thats what I do for my job.
 

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,071
744
126
Originally posted by: Quintox
Whoa I had no idea any of this happened

Sorry. I deleted your name from "TheGoodGuy" Newsletter because your account is overdue. Please remit $25 to me via PayPal and I'll put you back on my list.
 
Oct 9, 1999
15,216
3
81
Originally posted by: silverpig
1. Street View rocks. The sun is totally glaring in my eyes. Maybe you should bring the google streetview pic?
2. $15K liability? Geez, here the usual minimum is $1m... and they recommend $5m, which most people get.

My insurance company took pictures the next day at the same time i had the accident. The guy taking the pictures was also telling the same thing, its so hard to see.

I was never given the pictures but trust me, they have it.

15/30K is the state minimum requirements for insurance. I have since raised it, but for this accident it does not matter, thats what the insurance co. will pay out for the maximum.

 

KLin

Lifer
Feb 29, 2000
29,554
158
106
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.

OMG double negative!! You just denied hitting her!! you lose!!!
 

Playmaker

Golden Member
Sep 17, 2000
1,584
0
0
Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
The thing I don't understand is if his insurance covers up to $15k, why isn't he having them settle it with the woman? Won't cost him anything but his deductible and a surcharge compared to paying thousands to a lawyer and more than $15k.

insurance tried to settle with them for X amount of dollars. They did not take it. They wanted more and wanted to go to court.

I would have the insurance company settle with them on that, but the thing is that as my friend put it, they are only saying 15K cause they dont know my limits. So they default to the state minimum and sue the defendent / insurance company for that amount. When it goes to court, they ask more in the actual paperwork.

At that point the insurance company only covers to 15K or whatever your coverage is then. The point is to get to court. He was telling me that unscrupulous lawyers do that all the time. I dont know anything about this lawyer but yea..

Why would she settle for $15k, even if her medical bills were only $6k? This is America.
 
Oct 9, 1999
15,216
3
81
Originally posted by: Playmaker
Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
The thing I don't understand is if his insurance covers up to $15k, why isn't he having them settle it with the woman? Won't cost him anything but his deductible and a surcharge compared to paying thousands to a lawyer and more than $15k.

insurance tried to settle with them for X amount of dollars. They did not take it. They wanted more and wanted to go to court.

I would have the insurance company settle with them on that, but the thing is that as my friend put it, they are only saying 15K cause they dont know my limits. So they default to the state minimum and sue the defendent / insurance company for that amount. When it goes to court, they ask more in the actual paperwork.

At that point the insurance company only covers to 15K or whatever your coverage is then. The point is to get to court. He was telling me that unscrupulous lawyers do that all the time. I dont know anything about this lawyer but yea..

Why would she settle for $15k, even if her medical bills were only $6k? This is America.

Like I said, my friend who is in India (US attorney in India right now) says its only a ruse. It will go up after they file official court documents to sue. To me it does not make sense to sue for 15K with 6K in medical bills. The attorney itself with take like 5K. So she is left with like like 4K.

He thinks they will raise it when it goes to court in the official paperwork.


 

Reckoner

Lifer
Jun 11, 2004
10,851
1
81
No jury in the world is going to give a damn about any mathematical nonsense you or a lawyer spout at them. It's only going to look like a cop out. Seriously, I looked at your battleplan on the OP and just shaked my head in disbelief. No jury is going to listen to half of that. Hire a good lawyer and hope for a good settlement. And next time, invest in some snap on sunglasses, or a sun visor.
 

Playmaker

Golden Member
Sep 17, 2000
1,584
0
0
Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
Originally posted by: Playmaker
Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
The thing I don't understand is if his insurance covers up to $15k, why isn't he having them settle it with the woman? Won't cost him anything but his deductible and a surcharge compared to paying thousands to a lawyer and more than $15k.

insurance tried to settle with them for X amount of dollars. They did not take it. They wanted more and wanted to go to court.

I would have the insurance company settle with them on that, but the thing is that as my friend put it, they are only saying 15K cause they dont know my limits. So they default to the state minimum and sue the defendent / insurance company for that amount. When it goes to court, they ask more in the actual paperwork.

At that point the insurance company only covers to 15K or whatever your coverage is then. The point is to get to court. He was telling me that unscrupulous lawyers do that all the time. I dont know anything about this lawyer but yea..

Why would she settle for $15k, even if her medical bills were only $6k? This is America.

Like I said, my friend who is in India (US attorney in India right now) says its only a ruse. It will go up after they file official court documents to sue. To me it does not make sense to sue for 15K with 6K in medical bills. The attorney itself with take like 5K. So she is left with like like 4K.

He thinks they will raise it when it goes to court in the official paperwork.

It sounds like you hit a real winner. Fork over the cash for a great lawyer to prevent her from getting a penny more than what her medical bills were, even if that's unlikely.
 

paulney

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2003
6,909
1
0
I remember the original thread describing the accident.
To be honest, the behavior of the hit pedestrian quickly led most readers to guess her racial profile and her future steps.
They were not mistaken.
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
20,894
3,246
126
Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy

Like I said, my friend who is in India (US attorney in India right now) says its only a ruse. It will go up after they file official court documents to sue. To me it does not make sense to sue for 15K with 6K in medical bills. The attorney itself with take like 5K. So she is left with like like 4K.

He thinks they will raise it when it goes to court in the official paperwork.

Dont underestimate lawyers in S. Cali.

Anyhow they usually split 1/3rd

doctor
atty.
client.

i have a few friends in the business.

If your client got an dick atty, your gonna need a dick atty fighting for you.

There is no way your gonna magically figure out a way yourself. Trust me.
First ask if your INS Co. has a division that handles things like this. They might have there own lawyers that can help you.

Tip on the lawyer.
When you go into the office, make sure the admin/secretary is NOT wearing jeans.
To me this last line means a big difference in quality.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,123
12
81
Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
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.

So much for me offering to represent you if that is what you really think all defense attorneys do.

I actually have a lot of good ideas and advice for you, but, now I just hope she takes you for all your worth and more.

You should watch your tongue in the future.

MotionMan (Los Angeles civil defense attorney who has defended many automobile v. pedestrian cases)
 

zach0624

Senior member
Jul 13, 2007
535
0
0
dude you are SOL. The ped pretty much always wins in this case. If the ped was walking across the street and you were stopped at a light and the ped falls over and says you hit them the ped probably will win.
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
20,894
3,246
126
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
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.

So much for me offering to represent you if that is what you really think all defense attorneys do.

I actually have a lot of good ideas and advice for you, but, now I just hope she takes you for all your worth and more.

You should watch your tongue in the future.

MotionMan (Los Angeles civil defense attorney who has defended many automobile v. pedestrian cases)

he's partially correct tho. :X

Thats why i told him to look for one whose admin isnt wearing jeans. :p
 

Eeezee

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
9,922
0
0
Originally posted by: 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.

Ped ANYWHERE wins. Pedestrians always have the right of way, even if they're jaywalking (in CA and AZ this is at least true, but I think it's true everywhere).

OP, you hit a pedestrian. Just yelling "SCIENCE!" over and over isn't going to save you. There is very little that you can do. According to the California DMV manual (having just moved to CA and taken the test last year), if you're blinded by the glare of the sun, then you're supposed to pull over to the side of the road until the glare goes away.

Sorry OP, you are screwed. All you can do is hope that your lawyer can fix this.

Also, I thought I'd ask, how do you know how fast you were going if you were completely blinded by the glare? You could see the speedometer but you couldn't see the pedestrian?

And reading further down, the glare prevented you from seeing the SIDE of the road? You said earlier that the dashboard caused so much glare that you couldn't see anything! Your story reeks of bullshit. You were negligent, and I hope she gets 15k (which is what your insurance covers anyway) but not a penny more.
 

Xavier434

Lifer
Oct 14, 2002
10,373
1
0
No amount of "science" is going to act as defense for you in this case. Your best bet would be to convince the court that they should not have been crossing the road due to oncoming traffic, but I have no idea how you are going "prove" that. The court will probably just write it up as speculation in order to get out of a messy situation. I don't think you stand a chance in hell getting off without paying anything. As you already know, you need a lawyer. After that, you need to start saving as much money as you can because you'll need it to pay off what you owe. This case is very clean cut. You made a mistake as you are aware and you are going to pay for it. Everything else is just you trying to twist the law in your favor because America is lawsuit crazy which I do not completely blame you for doing but still.

On a side note, I do not believe you should owe her 30k-45k. I think 15k-25k is more appropriate but my opinion doesn't really matter. You need to prepare for the worst.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,140
138
106
I'm the first one to tell a ped to go to hell, 2 ton mass of steel vs 150lb meatbag, steel always wins. People need to get the fuck out of the way of a car or truck.

But dude, you hit a mother. =/ You're lucky they're not going to try and hang you.
 

Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
57,529
3
0
Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
If I dont do anything, i'll lose and she will win. If i do something, there is a chance she wont get all that she wants. If I lose with all this work, then its no different from loosing without a fight.

I am not a pushover, i am a fighter!
You're a Drama Queen. The insurance will pay it so why fight it. You'll probably piss the judge off with your nonsense and he'll tack on extra for punitive damages.

 

AlienCraft

Lifer
Nov 23, 2002
10,539
0
0
For all the trouble you're going to to avoid your responsibility, you'
re goona need a new handle, 'cause after this," thegoodguy" you ain't.

You make Baby Jesus cry..... after hitting him in the crosswalk.

BTW, in CA, most municipalities take hitting pedestrians seriously. You're hosed. The more you try to explain it away, the harder it'll come down on you.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,543
651
126
Originally posted by: Raduque
I'm the first one to tell a ped to go to hell, 2 ton mass of steel vs 150lb meatbag, steel always wins. People need to get the fuck out of the way of a car or truck.

But dude, you hit a mother. =/ You're lucky they're not going to try and hang you.

Stop trolling. Drivers need to stop when pedestrians are in the crosswalk or they end-up going to court and losing their shirts.
 

jjanders

Member
Jul 28, 2005
199
0
0
I'm not going to speak to what you should do, but I can't believe multiple people in this thread are saying you shouldn't have been driving or should have pulled over.

Are you serious?? So you're telling me if it's sunny out, you pull off to the side of the road until the sun goes down? Let's be serious, no one here would do that. I've been in lots of situations where it was sunny and there was bad glare and I didn't have 100% visibility, I have never pulled over and waited until the sun went away, and have never head of anyone else doing it either. Obviously this IS a bit unsafe, and maybe people should pull over, but NO ONE does, so I can't believe people are being patronizing about it.