Lawfags of Sup Forums I need advice bad

Lawfags of Sup Forums I need advice bad.
4 years ago I was in a car accident when I ran a stop sign. Basically I was grossly negligent.The driver is suing me because he had a spinal fusion. Currently I have a $1 million umbrella policy. I was told when I was deposed that the case would likely be settled for mid-six figures, and that if it went to arbitration the settlement would have to be capped at the ammount of the policy. Is this true? I also recently got a letter stating that the other driver was having a knee operation and that i had been assigned to a different attorney. Am I fucked? I just finally graduated and accepted a job, but I can't work my life away for a mistake I made when I was a stupid kid. Should I be thinking about life insurance and prepping for the big one or is this an overreaction?

Bump

Bump I bestest

This isn't my specialty, but I see no reason -- unless there's some kind of tort reform on the books in your state -- why his measure of damages should be controlled by what you decided would be your policy. Proper compensation for wrongful death or catastrophic illness (say, amputation + paralysis + pain & suffering + complications + lifetime loss of work) would far exceed the limits by someone who took out the minimal policy required by law (like assigned risk).

Again, not my area of expertise, but compensation connected to spinal fusion *probably* would be nowhere near the $1 million-dollar mark (especially outside of a jury trial).

I don't really see what life insurance has to do with it.

Try to bring this to an end before you embark on a career that will make you seem like you have deep pockets.

how long ago was the accident? Any possibility for a statute of limitations or repose to render it moot? also what state are you in?

Also, if a case hasn't been filed, four years might be beyond the statute of limitations. Check your state's laws.

The life insurance is so I can off myself without fucking my family over
I live in NY

It's already been filed and is underway.

Can your negligence be imputed to your family? They won't be automatically negligent at common law.

If the case was filed in NY within three years, the statute of limitations won't save you.

(I have 100k in student loans)

Unless you live in New Hampshire or Virginia, your state probably requires your vehicle to have a liability auto insurance policy before you can operate it on public roads. That means the guy you hit was very likely also insured, at the very least for some minimum amount.
Ask your lawyer about the other driver's UM (uninsured/underinsured motorist policy) limits of coverage. Some states only require liability insurance coverage and don't require drivers to get any UM coverage.
Basically how UM works is, if your liability carrier pays out the policy limits of your own coverage (hits the "cap"), and the other driver still has expenses, then at that point his UM coverage should kick in.
Also, I'm expecting a lot of that "six figures" you mentioned is lawyers negotiating over general damages for pain and suffering.
Ask your lawyer what the other driver's total special damages are.
Also, ask your lawyer if he/she has identified an expert medical witness who will examine the other driver's knee injury surgery records, old medical records, etc. Doctors get deposed all the time in these cases.
It may be that, if the other driver didn't report knee injuries occurring in the wreck - if the medical records show the knee condition only arose 4 years after - then it may be that the knee is an unrelated condition.
(I used to work for a big insurance company and dealt with some legal shit there.)

haha you fucked that dude up bro

OK, so -- absent someone else's negligence in your own negligence ("joint and several liability") -- the life insurance doesn't seem to be related to the lawsuit.

Life insurance might be relevant to the loans if someone else cosigned, AND your loan won't be discharged (under the terms of the loan or applicable law) by death. Some will be discharged by death.

Don't off yourself just yet. Even if you don't take on a career that will make those loans reasonably payable, you can prepare yourself take on the type of government work that will discharge government loans.

can't he just declare bankruptsy to get out from under the lawsuit?

Bankruptcy won't save the ones he's concerned about (family) if they are on the hook along with him, unless they also declare bankruptcy.

This is all horrifying to me. FWIW, I will be starting a 97k/yr job in march. I live with my parents right now, my dad was named co-defendent as i was driving his truck.

should he get his own lawyer? is he being sued separately from the insurance company?

No we are both being represented on behalf of the insurance company

>I can't work my life away for a mistake I made when I was a stupid kid

nah just other people should have to suffer for your mistakes... never you, amirite?

Naming your father as co-defendant just for using his truck and nothing else just sounds like they're trying to cast as wide a net as possible to spook everyone. Good tactic, might work in front of a jury.

At common law (and was the rule when I got my JD and passed the California Bar), there has to be some tangible, articulated, and proven negligence on his part.

well the good news is they are going to do their best to pay out as little as possible.

I'm wondering though if it is worth getting a separate atty

Believe me I know. That said, say it to me when you are on the hook for half a mil worth of arbitrary suffering

just saying - you are better off 500k in debt than having your spine fucked up. you got the better end of the deal.

Why would they sue you for that knee operation 4 years later? It was also one of the injuries?

If you're gonna be starting out at $97k/year, your student loans ain't no thang but a chicken wang. You're doing better than the vast majority of everybody.

Also, only some insurance companies will pay out for suicide-related claims. And those that do will usually require that the policy be taken out well before the suicide (generally two or more years).

Even in a relatively wicked scenario (but spinal fusion + knee doesn't come close), your starting earnings, coupled with the assumption that your earnings will steadily rise, make this something you can probably deal with without significant hardship.

My own bro was expected to die from an accident he didn't cause. He is a paraplegic, missing a leg, and lost misc guts/parts of guts. Even with the some of the most aggressive PI attorneys in LA, he came out with uh... I don't remember actually, but it was something you could deal with (based on insurance coverage & your earnings) in today's money.