My girlfriend is being sued for a minor traffic accident?

So wait the other person was turning left and she is somehow being treated as at fault? Based on what? If the other person was turning in front of her I don't care if both of them had a red light. When you are turning left you have to make sure there are no hazards. If you get hit turning left you are almost always at fault because you didn't make sure the path is clear. If the person turning left doesn't have a protected turn at any point then I don't see how she can ever be seen as at fault. Well that or you are describing what happened wrong.

of course she does. left runs must yield until all legal traffic clears, which includes your gf's yellow light.

expect the other party to argue in court that your gf ran a red ... and ask for the list of their witnesses in advance

She would need to prove her case, it really matters what it says on the police report. Sounds to me like she has the right of way.

The light was no on green to go, so no if proved she did go through on amber then she is at fault

Her only defense is that she had the right of way. She needs to repor this to her insurance, they will defend the case.

Well for 1, her Ins. Co. is the 1 that is to cover this & protect her. They follow laws, have guidelines & coverage limits. It's also why in most States, it's illegal to drive without Ins. You didn't mention why she is being sued rather than why the other party isn’t going through either Ins.?

Please add details to your question so an answer can be specific to help her.

Where the accident took place: City/State/cross streets

police report?

Verified both auto Ins covgs?

# of witnesses - inside either car or a bystander

# of people in each car

How long ago was the accident? (Date or apx. Date of acc.)

What did the other person’s (& her) car look like after the accident?

Does she have video or photos of the cars?

Year & make/model of ea. car

Where each car was hit – describe damage for both

1 piece of good news is that if this other person had a leg to stand on & they were in fact deemed “not at fault” they wouldn’t be trying to personally sue HER. They would be going through Ins. OR they would have already retained an attorney to represent them.

Here’s what I think happened. The other person spoke with their Ins. co. who told them the case already decided to be “50 50.” They have a high deductible they can’t afford or simply do not WANT to pay it. They probably don’t truly have $1,000 in damage but rather $200 but they went to different auto repair shops until they chose the highest estimate. If they envisioned winning in court, then being given a check for $1k, they could fix the car for $200 & pocket the rest or not fix it & pocket all of the $. Especially if the car is old. If your girlfriend was CLEARLY at fault, Ins. would be taking care of the whole thing period. They are not for a REASON. An attorney hasn’t taken the case for a reason as well. It’s even possible the other person doesn’t have valid Ins. & doesn’t want to pay to fix it. if this is the case, the judge might even FINE them as part of the lesson of justice AND report it to the DMV AND reimburse your GF ALL out of pocket costs, which I HIGHLY recommend she list out every dime WITH any evidence to support each item. Your GF can inform the DMV the person didn’t have ins., which they would probably have their license suspended. See how court goes first. Sometimes a judge finds it necessary to do implement justice in front of the audience & take your GF out of being the bad 1.

If the law states that all drivers must carry auto ins., then when she goes to court, all she has to do is to bring proof of Ins. with her & letters of decision deeming it a 50 50 case.

I suspect in this case, your GF’s Ins. Co. told the other person's Ins. Co. that this is a "50 50 case" or both Ins. Co’s made this same conclusion. Which means the other person must have their own Ins. cover them & HER Ins. must cover her.

The other person probably went home thinking about how to profit or had a friend, family member or spouse who told them they got a big settlement from a car accident & all they have to do is get a lawyer & they can do the same. Or they heard a commercial asking to call if they’ve been injured in an auto accident. I suspect they already were told this & then found out they have a $1K or more deductible on the Ins. that comes out of pocket FIRST before coverage begins. Which of course they want to try to get out of paying.

It's not so simple.

If it was a cut & dry rear end case at a light with a video camera, police report also stating who is at fault, witnesses etc. Then all Ins. Co’s would simply be doing all the work. No law suits to a PERSON.

I believe the other person spoke with a lawyer, complaining, ranting & crying over this acting like the victim insisting it’s the other person’s fault. The attorney knew damage at only $1k isn’t worth taking & probably told the person who said “well then what else can I do?” That they can take her to small claims court & so they are. Also, attorneys are very sharp with being able to discern a phony greedy person out for $. Judges ARE attorneys, they spot it as well.

What she needs to do, to defend herself is to gather up evidence.

1. Video or photo’s of each car – find the website that reveals all video lights to see if in fact there was a recording taken of the whole accident.

2. Police report - if 1 was taken she needs to read it. Her Ins. co. would have requested it to conclude what they already have, she can ask them to email a copy to her or physically go in to the station (or ph1 them) & get her own copy for a small fee.

3. Witnesses? If some1 was with her, they need to write a statement or better, go with her to court.

4. Bring proof of Ins., reg. & D-lic.

5. Bring email copy of response from her Ins. co. stating they concluded it’s a 50 50 case.

6. Receipts for out of pocket expenses. Letter from employer $ missing work to go to court, filing fee, fuel receipt, video fee, police rep. fee, etc.

If her evidence shows this to be a 50 50 case, get this from her Ins. Who should also have a letter f& the other person’s Ins. in writing to bring to court. Based on this it’s likely a judge will conclude exactly the same but be in the position to be the liason to TELL the $ hungry person the bad news.

Also, your GF has a choice to counter-sue but all this would show a judge is tit for tat, eye for eye bratty immature, vindictive behavior. So I wouldn’t do it if it adds up to nearly nothing, like a small $25.00 filing fee & the court is close to home & no work is missed. It will reflect badly on her character. A judge might see how gracious your GF is by not even asking to be reimbursed & assign the other party pay anyway. Just have her bring evidence, period. This way if the judge asks to see her out of pocket costs, she has them right there. If it costs rather quite a bit of m1y to defend herself, then she should counter sue & be sure to list everything out with evidence every item, especially receipts.

Like

Police report $25.00 (have receipt & rpt.)

Video footage of the accident $300.00 (proof of pmt)

Counter sue filing fee $150.00 recpt.

Gas $20.00 rcpt.

Hours of work missed to go to court $____ (letter or copy of paycheck stub showing your salary or wage the judge can do the math)

Total $495.00+

& whatever else there is.

A judge would also be able to force justice big time with more evidence with costs that would otherwise not even be there if this person wasn’t so freaking greedy. THEY would have to pay all this to reimburse your GF, which many judges love to teach Mrs. Sue Happy in court a lesson of justice that greed results in.

Also, if she doesn’t currently have any photos of the damage, see if she can do some googling to find where the person lives & sneak over & take a photo of their car’s damage. If a judge sees a photo where there’s a teeny tiny scratch or dent, they are going to laugh the case out of the courtroom.

If she went through a yellow light going straight & the other guy was turning, they were hit from the side & she hit them with the front or front-corner of her car. But if they only have $1,000 in damage, it doesn’t sound like the hit caused much damage or the car is very old. A photo is worth a thousand words.

It does show the other person prob. doesn’t have a case, just by the fact no attorney is representing them. The attorney was probably just being professional & instead of telling them “you don’t have a case” especially if they were hemming & hawing, ranting, crying & complaining they are hurt, they are suffering, they can’t afford to pay the deductible, why should I have to if it’s not my fault, on & on. She probably won’t even need much evidence other than formal letters from both Ins. Co’s. Your GF’s Ins. probably already has in their possession, the letter of denial from the other person’s ins. If the other person had an open & shut case, an attorney would have taken the case OR the Ins. would already be handling the whole thing. It’s a good sign there is no case to be had being they are taking her to court. I also suspect the other person had gone to more than 1 body shop & is presenting the highest 1, but a photo speaks a thousand words. She can jot down the year make & model of their car, then phone a few repair shops to ask if they could email an apx.etimate to do the repair. If she showed in court, 3 different shops stating they could repair the car for significantly less $ oh boy would this be a hoot to show the judge. If a photo is laughable it will probably make a judge angry. Also, if it’s comical & ridiculous enough, your GF can later request the court video & I’d slap that on youtube. “Sue happy lady gets justice.” I REALLY believe the other person is trying to get out of paying their deductible & that’s all.

Have your GF speak with her Ins. agent to find out the final decision & how they drew that conclusion, get it in writing. Get a police report copy & highlight the area that shows in her favor if there is any, also any video & photos of both cars. If there is any way for her to find out what the other person’s deductible is, this would be a priceless piece of evidence. I REALLY think the other person is trying to get out of paying the high deductible period.

I’ll peek back to see if you added more details. I REALLY think there is no case.