Poly lawyers

[KrazyHorse]

Wife just rear ended somebody at very low speed pulling into a stop light. There was no damage to either car (photographically documented), but the guy in the car claimed neck pain etc. My guess is that they will struggle to prove any actual bodily harm; what are the expectations for settlement figures in this type of case? Anecdotally, folks I talked to who have been at the receiving end of thin complaints like this have had their cases settled with figures below their insurance coverage (20k/40k). Is this also your experience?

[ZEE]

Let's talk aBout rear-ending Uranus.

[Dr Strangelove]

This reminds me of something that happened to me years ago. My wife was driving down a busy two lane road, I was in the front passenger seat. A car pulled out from a bank about 100 yards ahead of us, there was plenty of room for it to accelerate to speed, but I noticed that it wasn't speeding up like it should. I shouted at my wife to stop, we barely avoided colliding with it. The car then moved on down the road, there was a red light a short distance away, where it stopped but its tail lights didn't light up. I could see the man in the passenger seat turn his head and talk to the woman driving, then he bent over and a few seconds later the tail lights lit up. My guess is that they had disconnected the tail lights in the hopes of luring someone into hitting them. When the trick didn't work the guy reconnected the lights to avoid getting a ticket from the police.

[rah]

Hire someone to follow the guy for a few days and take pictures. Always fun to show the guy golfing while trying to claim debilitating neck pain.

[pchang]

This reminds me of something that happened to me years ago. My wife was driving down a busy two lane road, I was in the front passenger seat. A car pulled out from a bank about 100 yards ahead of us, there was plenty of room for it to accelerate to speed, but I noticed that it wasn't speeding up like it should. I shouted at my wife to stop, we barely avoided colliding with it. The car then moved on down the road, there was a red light a short distance away, where it stopped but its tail lights didn't light up. I could see the man in the passenger seat turn his head and talk to the woman driving, then he bent over and a few seconds later the tail lights lit up. My guess is that they had disconnected the tail lights in the hopes of luring someone into hitting them. When the trick didn't work the guy reconnected the lights to avoid getting a ticket from the police.

You really seem to be surrounded by the dregs of humanity.

[ColdWizard]

You really seem to be surrounded by the dregs of humanity.

He lives in the deep south

[Wiglaf]

As a lawyer I'd recommend giving the perpetrator your credit card and driving home and reporting it stolen as soon as you can. Alternatively you should not settle unless they have a doctor's note confirming neck injury, and in fact should consider counter suing (this is a term of art for when you want to double down on your wife's mistake).

[FlameFlash]

Not a lawyer, but wiglaf makes sense, especially if the guy can never produce confirmation of injury. Send yourself and wife to a shrink for at least a session and confirm that the threat of a suit caused emotional distress.

Alternatively, rah's idea is awesome.

[DaShi]

Ugh, this is what Silk Road was made for.

Also, the last time I rear-ended someone, I just mentioned INS and the person drove off.

[Dr Strangelove]

As a lawyer I'd recommend giving the perpetrator your credit card and driving home and reporting it stolen as soon as you can. Alternatively you should not settle unless they have a doctor's note confirming neck injury, and in fact should consider counter suing (this is a term of art for when you want to double down on your wife's mistake).

A sizeable number of these folks are on Medicaid already, so they can wander from doctor to doctor until they find one willing to certify that there injury is worth 6 figures. The state pays the doctor's fees.

[Dr Strangelove]

You really seem to be surrounded by the dregs of humanity.

Oh Please! If I could tell you what I see on a daily basis in my clinic, but I can't, medical ethics prohibits me.

[Egbert]

I would like to place a poast in this thrade