I've been in 2 accidents. The first was very minor; I rolled into the bumper in the car in front of me at a stop light and scratched their bumper. No damage was sustained to my car, but I am at-fault.
The second I was cutting through an intersection that was at a red light and was about to pull into the left-turn lane when the woman in the car that was coming down the lane wasn't looking forward and hit the driver side door of my car. I was already halfway in the lane trying to straighten out into the left-turn lane but I couldn't move when she was coming, because if I moved back I might have hit someone and if I went forward she would have hit me anyway. At the scene the policewoman told me I was at fault, but when I talked to my claims adjuster, she told me that there is some negligence on the other party's part because if I had just randomly pulled out into traffic, the other party would have hit the front of my car, not the driver-side door.
I am being sued by the first person and I found out just now I am being sued by the person in the second accident as well.
I was told that since I am registered under my parents insurance, the other party can see that they have a lot of assets they can sue for from my parents.
My question is, why are they able to sue me so easily? I've done research, and I know Florida is a no-fault state, meaning drivers cannot sue each other unless serious injury occurred, such as loss of life, limb, permanent injury, etc. In both accidents, I did not get ticketed, and I believe no police report was written, only exchanges of information.(Police were called, however. I did not leave the scene) Also both of the other parties did not ask for an ambulance or medical assistance(I know about the feeling pain later thing) but I'm sure if someone was suing for something as serious that can be listed as loss of limb or death, they would have showed some indication of injury at the scene. Both people stepped out of their cars and were fine, however.
Hank,
I know I am the "bad" driver. If you read MY post correctly, I am talking about the medical part, not the damages to property part. The paragraph you pointed me to is on property damage.
Florida no-fault is based on the verbal threshold, which means as stated in your post, "injuries must be relatively "severe" (significant loss of use of body part, disfigurement, permanent disability, bone fracture) or expressed in terms of length of disability (full disability over 180 days)".
I am saying that neither of the opposing parties in either of the cases have injuries as severe as the above description.
Hank Scorpio
Because you don't know what you're talking about: You're the "BAD" driver. Read the paragraph after Utah.
No-Fault States: Because the tort (lawsuit) system has led to long and costly court battles over who was at fault and to what degree, policymakers in many states decided to change from a fault-based system to some form of a no-fault system.
Under no-fault automobile insurance laws, the good driver does not have to prove that the crash was somebody else's fault before getting his money. His insurance company picks up medical bills, rehabilitation costs and lost wages up to the amount he purchased. The tradeoff is the injured person cannot sue the other driver for pain and suffering, emotional distress and inconvenience. (If you live in a no-fault state, the no-fault portion of your auto insurance policy is usually called PIP or Personal Injury Protection.)
At present, there are 12 states that have no fault insurance:
No-Fault States:
Florida
Hawaii
Kansas
Kentucky
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
New Jersey
New York
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
Utah
When it comes to physical damage to your car or its contents, unlike compensation for bodily injury claims, insurance claims are still based on fault. Those claims are handled in the same way as those in a state with a fault law: by filing a lawsuit against the bad driver or looking to your own collision insurance.
Lawsuits, however, are permitted for injuries meeting a certain threshold, the definition of which varies considerably among the no-fault PIP states. An injured person can sue if the claim exceeds either a monetary or verbal (descriptive) threshold. In monetary threshold states (see below), medical expenses must be over a certain dollar amount. In verbal (descriptive) threshold PIP states (see below), injuries must be relatively "severe" (significant loss of use of body part, disfigurement, permanent disability, bone fracture) or expressed in terms of length of disability (full disability over 180 days). Some states have both, in which case an injured person can file a liability claim if he meets either one.
Because of the different hybrids in the PIP packaging, whether you can file an injury liability claim really will depend on the specifics of your state's no-fault automobile law. Your best first step is to contact a car accident attorney to discuss how the relevant state law looks at fault and how that law affects your right to recover damages.
champer
I'd guess you're being sued for the damage to the other parties cars. Hank Scorpio is correct, claims for damage to car or contents are still based on fault even in a no-fault state. Those claims work in the same way as those in a state with a fault law.
EDIT I see your addition. In that case you need a lawyer, rather than try to do it yourself.
mbrcatz
"No Fault" laws are very deceptive - and as you note, Florida has a verbal threshhold.
One deceptive thing about them, is they only protect people who have a policy. If you have no policy - ie, if you're driving in Florida with NO insurance, or insurance NOT IN YOUR NAME, you are NOT protected from lawsuits, from the no fault laws.
As long as you are over 18, and you do NOT buy your OWN policy, you do not have protection via the no-fault laws. If you are under 18, you do.
So that's why they can sue you, if they haven't met the "verbal threshold" limit.
Florida is also the insurance accident FRAUD capital of the USA, which means, everyone is trying to work the system there.
Sorry.
Orignal From: Why is it that I am still able to be sued for an auto accident if I live in Florida, a no-fault state?
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