rear ended at low speed, but they are claiming personal injury
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rear ended at low speed, but they are claiming personal injury
I was driving at around 10 to 15 mph in a bumper to bumper traffic, when
changing lane hit a car in front of me. There is some damage to both the cars, around $4000 repair for my car bumper, head light, wheel, tire. For the other car also it might be around same price. After the accident, I checked with the driver of other car and passenger of that car. They told there are no injuries. None of us in our car are injured. From my insurance, received a letter stating it is our fault because of rear-ending and the other party is claiming for injury. We are given 30 days to give written response if we think we are not at fault. What should be done without knowing what type of injury they are claiming for?
Asked on March 16, 2016 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Since this was a rear-end collision, there isn't any realistic response you can provide to claim that you were not at fault.
Injuries don't always manifest themselves at the time of the accident, and injuries may appear later even in low speed collisions.The specific injuries may not be known until the parties complete their medical treatment (which could take a number of months) and then seek compensation from your insurance company for their medical bills, pain and suffering ( an amount in addition to the medical bills) based on the medical reports.
It would be advisable to let your insurance company handle the entire matter. Most likely, the case will be settled with your insurance company without a lawsuit being filed. If the other parties are dissatisfied with settlement offers from your insurance company after they complete their medical treatment, they could reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against you. Don't worry about it because it might be two years before a lawsuit is filed and again, no lawsuit is filed if the case is settled with your insurance company. In the event of a lawsuit, your insurance company will provide you with an attorney at no cost to you and that attorney will handle the entire matter for you.
Again, I want to emphasize, don't worry about it. Your insurance company will handle the entire matter and most likely the case will be settled without any lawsuit being filed.
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