What to do about a falsely cliamed injury?
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What to do about a falsely cliamed injury?
A boy on a skateboard and my son (3 years younger) on a bike ran into each other at a corner on school grounds. The father of the boy is claiming that my husband is the one who ran into his son and attempted to file a police report. The police wouldn’t take the report because it is a civil matter. The father is claiming, with medical records, that the boy has a sprained knee and a fracture (my husband and 2 sons saw him riding his skateboard at a fast rate of speed later that evening). How should we handle this? Would our insurance cover it if we were found liable?
Asked on June 18, 2012 under Personal Injury, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Whether your insurance would cover it depends on the terms of your policy. An insurance policy is a contract, and, like any other contract, is governed by its language. Review the policy to see what it covers.
In generally, if you are being sued or are threatened with being sued for a false set of personal injuries, you should retain an attorney to help you. The lawyer can, as appropriate, settle the case for a reasonable amount (remember: even if you think the facts are in your favor, no lawsuit is ever guaranteed as to the outcome; sometimes agreeing to pay a modest amount is better than paying the cost to defend a lawsuit and taking the chance of an adverse verdict) or defend the case. Legally, you would only be liable to the extent it can be proven that you son negligently, or carelessly (judging negligence by the standards of a boy his age) caused the injuries.
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