Update on accident...

[Superdave]

This is the original thread http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38750
I was served a summons last week. Seems the lady that got thrown out and her husband (a preacher) are now TOTALLY disabled and can never work again :confused: :mad:. I am being sued for $ 500,00.00 + lawyer fees. Thing is, I'm poor. Only own my house and work at the Post Office. My wife is disabled and can't work. :( Looks like bankruptcy for me. :( Thing is, the lady didn't even want to go to the hospital at the time. Also, even after passing the field sobriety test ( I had 2 beers in a 5 hour period !), the officer still wrote in his report that I had consumed 5 or 6. What a @#&%$&( mess.
Dave

[j.iverson]

Sorry to hear about this, if you have liability insurance for your boat, it may not be as bad as it seems.

[quickonstep]

did you have any insurance on your boat? this kinda sucks that your going through all of this, but im a firm believer in "all accidents can be avoided".. 35-40 mph was a bit fast @ midnight to be running in my opinion, but thats niether here nor there... if ya got insurance, will they help? is there anyway you can prove the lights were not on? usually those ass's with those big cabin cruisers will turn the transom light on and think its sufficiant.. but wont turn on the all around light.. l usually dont run at night and if i do, its just enough to stay on plane and trimmed all the way in.... glad yall are ok for the most part health wise and no one was killed..

youll pull through homey

Jesse

[Jeff_G]

Did you get a copy of the original police report and dispute the officer's account? Did you dispute the lights on the other boat? Maybe it is time you got an attorney and even maybe file aganist the other party in a counter suit. That will usually stop alot of things in their place. They will have to prove their case then.

[Adam]

The threat of a lawsuit is just that, a threat.

It is a long way to go before anybody collects anything. Get yourself a good lawyer, who no doubt will scare them off a bit.

Good luck with this. Focus on the fact that you are still around to deal with this.

[Ripper]

Call the officer in on it and use him to your advantage... The lady and her husband refused to go to the hospital correct? Good luck with all this... I will be more carefull after reading this now also...


Ripper

[quickonstep]

yea i just thought about that, she didnt want to goto the hospital, yet they are totally disabled... theres a revilation.. somthin smells fishy bout that, id check into it.

Jesse

[Raceman]

I'm sorry you're havin' to go through all this SuperD. It's just a prime example of how bad the legal system in this country is broken. I hope you and your cousin can adamantly and without question testify that the other boat had no lights on. It might be helpful to try and find out how long and why the other boat was parked where it was. If it'd been sitting there for hours perhaps there's an argument that they had lights off to save the battery.

It's unfortunate that our society has stooped to a level where unhurt people get home and talk to relatives and see ads for ambulance chasing attorneys and start thinking what they could get and all of a sudden decide they've got a potential lottery situation on their hands. It's another reason to vote against any lawyer running for any public office.

Here are a couple of things to think about: The other side may've filed a pre-emptive strike with their suit if they're concerned about the no lights issue. Second: I HATE LAWYERS, again I HATE LAWYERS, THEY'RE THE SCUM OF THE EARTH. That having been said, you need one and go get a damn good one. You're gonna need somebody to explain and deal with all the ramifications. For one thing, you could have legal action coming from your cousin for several reasons. Let's assume that he's real close to you and not interested in suing. (he's probably got a better case than the people in the other boat) Even so, anyone who treats him can legally sue you or attach your assets without due process until they're paid in full. The biggest hospital here has a history of filing leins on people's homes when there are at fault situations, until the hospital bills are paid in full. This is being done without court proceedings.

One other clear message that everybody reading this board should listen to because of this insane legal system we're drowning in: Personal umbrellas are cheap. You can get a million dollar umbrella that extends all of your personal liability coverage for 100 to 150 per year. If you get sued and don't have sufficient insurance your personal assets including your home are in jeopardy. BUY AN UMBRELLA.

[Doubledog]

Raceman......... You old dog!

Thanks for pointing that out about the UMBRELLA. My wife and I will be discussing this issue with our agent. Lord knows, with these model boats and other things we enjoy, you can really do some damage. Thanks for reminding me.

Dave, I wish you the best. You was wrong for driving that speed at that time of the night, but thats not the point. As friends, I'm standing beside you.

peace.

[Superdave]

No insurance, yes I know, kick me now. The reason I was running that speed was it was just on plane. If I go any slower the bow is up so high that I can't see at all. My cousins bills have been taken care of. ;) The TWRA officer was pissed when he gave me the field test and I passed with the approval of a TN Highway Patrol officer. The TWRA guy got pissed and treated me like $&it because he was pissed. I saw the man and his wife at the hospital and he wasn't hurt at all. I asked him how his wife was and he replied she would be okay. According to their insurance company, they had been sitting there for 30 minutes or more. There were a lot of bugs out that night and the women had on shorts.:rolleyes: He was anchored in a busy boat lane, right in the line of the boat ramp, outside the no-wake bouys.

[quickonstep]

here in md, if your achored outside of the nowake zones, with no lights on, more power to ya, cuz if somone hits you ITS YOUR fault (being the person that was achored)... theres supposed to be no anchoring outside of 6 knot markers.

Jesse

[Wildcat731]

you just mentioned them being anchored outside some no wake buoy's, does that mean that you were driving through them at the time you hit them doing 35-40mph? if so thats not very good for your case at all. Elaborate on that a little more if possible.

[BoatGoFaster1]

First, you need a lawyer. Read the comple definition of Negligence below. I pulled out the most important section for you to read here.

from law.com

"Furthermore, in six states (Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland) and the District of Columbia, an injured party will be denied any judgment (payment) if found to have been guilty of even slight "contributory negligence" in the accident. "


Tell me you are in one of those states. Did they contribute to the accident, can it be proved in a court , if so you might be off the hook.

Off course, i aint no lawyer, and there are twists and turns to everything, but you might end up OK.

And i know you dont want to hear it, but boating with out insurance is dumb. Even if you rent, Future wages can be attached.



negligence
n. failure to exercise the care toward others which a reasonable or prudent person would do in the circumstances, or taking action which such a reasonable person would not. Negligence is accidental as distinguished from "intentional torts" (assault or trespass, for example) or from crimes, but a crime can also constitute negligence, such as reckless driving. Negligence can result in all types of accidents causing physical and/or property damage, but can also include business errors and miscalculations, such as a sloppy land survey. In making a claim for damages based on an allegation of another's negligence, the injured party (plaintiff) must prove: a) that the party alleged to be negligent had a duty to the injured party-specifically to the one injured or to the general public, b) that the defendant's action (or failure to act) was negligent-not what a reasonably prudent person would have done, c) that the damages were caused ("proximately caused") by the negligence. An added factor in the formula for determining negligence is whether the damages were "reasonably foreseeable" at the time of the alleged carelessness. If the injury is caused by something owned or controlled by the supposedly negligent party, but how the accident actually occurred is not known (like a ton of bricks falls from a construction job), negligence can be found based on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitor (Latin for "the thing speaks for itself"). Furthermore, in six states (Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland) and the District of Columbia, an injured party will be denied any judgment (payment) if found to have been guilty of even slight "contributory negligence" in the accident. This archaic and unfair rule has been replaced by "comparative negligence" in the other 44 states, in which the negligence of the claimant is balanced with the percentage of blame placed on the other party or parties ("joint tortfeasors") causing the accident. In automobile accident cases in 16 states the head of the household is held liable for damages caused by any member of the family using the car under what is called the "family purpose" doctrine. Nine states (California, New York, Michigan, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island) make the owner of the vehicle responsible for all damages caused by a driver given permission to use the car, whether or not the negligent driver has assets or insurance to pay a judgment. Eight states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia) allow the owner to rebut a presumption that the driver was authorized to use the car. Negligence is one of the greatest sources of litigation (along with contract and business disputes) in the United States.

[Raceman]

Dave, another thing I'd recommend is that you come up with all the arguments you can think of on your own. I've been involved in about 5 court cases in the last decade or so (all related to commercial real estate issues, no personal injury) as both plaintiff and defendant, and I think one of the big factors have been that I wrote most of my own arguments and passed the attorneys notes during examination of witnesses by the other side on what to ask when it was his turn, based on what they were saying at the time. The lights off because of attracting bugs is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Obviously you're in a lot better position to know what happened first hand than your attorney, and also you'd obviously have much better feel for what's typical in boat situations than a typical attorney. All I'm saying is, if it comes to that, maximize your input into your case. (Did I meantion that I hate attorneys AND our legal system?) If it gets to a jury trial, what you have to do is make the jury see it from your angle. In my opinion, there's actually very little real law in verdicts these days, but mostly just personal prejudice of the jurors.

Here's one other tidbit while I've got it on my mind: Even if it doesn't ever get to a trial, you may very possibly get involved in depositions. That's where both sides get together with attorneys and look for evidence. It took me a while to figure out that when the other side can make you mad, you'll give them information they can use against you, either in a trial, or in negotiating a settlement. DON'T TRY YOUR CASE IN DEPOSITIONS. Answer as little as you can. My natural instinct was to make compelling arguments in depositions, trying to make the other side see that they didn't have a sound case. All it does is give them time to prepare a defense to those same arguments when they're pesented later.

I hope it goes well with minimal stress.

[Superdave]

I was across the lake from them. I planed off and was headed for the boat ramp. I was going towards the no-wake zone, not in it. Thanks, RM for th umbrella thing. Will check into that before I go out again. ;) BoatGoFaster1, Yes, I'm in TN. Maybe there is a ray of hope. Where did you find that info? Be interested in researching it. I do a lot of the leg work for my attorney. I got him all the statements, reports and names addresses, saved me some money.
Dave

[quickonstep]

law.com is where he got it.. and since he was ANCHORED outside of a nowake zone, then right there shows negligence on his part..

Jesse

[BoatGoFaster1]

I just did a google search Tennesse Contributory negligence. The info i posted was from law.com

If you have a lawyer, he should have jumped all over the contributory negligence issue in your first meeting. i would be concerned here.

You might want to validate that i what I said is in fact current tennesse law, by doing internet searchs. Then check with a few other lawyers, ask them about contributory neglience. make sure you have did your research and understand the concept and current law, before you ask them, cause remember you cant trust them lawyers.

How can you tell when a lawyer is lying?

His lips are moving!

[BoatGoFaster1]

Quick on step, not to disagree, but there is no law in maryland that says you have to anchor within a six knot zone.

You can anchor whereever you want to. Think about all the boats that anchor in the bay fishing.

Now you would not be smart to anchor in the shipping channel in the bay, there might be a law against that, really doesnt matter, the freighter will run you over.

There is laws about nav lights, anchor lights, . I think maryland has a very few areas where they are designated anchorages and you do not need to show an anchor light at night, hart and miller might be one of them.

Now in this guys case, if they were anchored out in a channel and with out lights, then I think there is a good case for contributory neglience on their part.

[quickonstep]

i ment to say inside of a channel or main passage... got a little ahead of myself there.

Jesse

[Raceman]

"If you have a lawyer, he should have jumped all over the contributory negligence issue in your first meeting. i would be concerned here. "


BGF1, apparently you don't have ANY experience with lawyers. That's not how the game is played. They'll bill for hours of research for things they know off the top of their head. It may be the fourth or fifth meeting before they come up with anything positive like that, offering their client a glimmer of hope. First they must have the crap scared out of their client to make him willing to endure the legal fees (extortion) that are forthcoming. Then the two opposing lawyers will appear to fight like hell, accuse each other of gross misconduct and disrespect, all the time while they're having lunch and playing golf together, not to mention working on other cases together. Then there'll be endless delays, continuances, answers to interogatories, more continuances, with breaks while your lawyer and the other side's lawyer are off on family vacation together. Finally they'll drag both sides into court for a preliminary hearing so both lawyers can appear to genuinely insult each other as well as opposing clients, which'll cost both sides an another 3 to 5 thousand, and THEN and ONLY THEN, they'll see if there can be any settlement.

As far as the anchoring issue, I doubt there's much of a negligence issue there if the anchored boat had proper lighting. Far as I know there aren't any restrictions on where somebody can tie up and go fishin'.

[BoatGoFaster1]

I have a lot of experience with lawyers. We have a pretty good firm that we work with for business and personal things.

When i had my accident, my lawyer met with me, we spent a couple of hours and he quickly explained contributory neglience to me. never milked me for additional billing.

I agree with you that a lot of lawyers are out for billing and a lot of lawyers are not all that smart. However, the firm that we use is actually quite good as far as lawyers go.

I also have had bad experiences with some lawyers, they are fired very quickly.

Thats why he needs to understand his situation independant of the lawyer. the best that he can as a layperson. Then find the proper lawyer that can represent him.

[tripledude]

...and if your lawyer charges by the hour, don't get too involved talking about yesterdays ballgame, the weather or anything but your case. The timeclock is ALWAYS ticking.

[Superdave]

Now I have a ray of hope. All this information really helped. I will be able to discuss it when I go to my lawyer without wasting our time.;) The reason my lawyer hasn't done anything was we were waiting on the statute of limitations to run out on them. They filed a week before it ran out. He said a countersuit could be filed, but it would be exspensive. Keep the suggestions and ideas coming. I'm wearing out my computer now looking at law.com. Good site and possibly some free advice.
Dave

[Georgia Boy]

If I understand you right there were anchored in front of the entrance to the ramp. not sure on your state, but here is part of the law in GA.

Obstructing Navigation
It is illegal to:

Anchor a boat in the traveled portion of a river or channel that will prevent or interfere with any other passing boat
Moor or attach a boat to a buoy, beacon, light, or any other navigational aid placed on public waters by proper authorities. Also, it is illegal to move, displace, tamper with, damage, or destroy any navigational aid
Obstruct a pier, wharf, boat ramp or access to any facility



Good Luck ~GB

[CMF]

http://198.187.128.12/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0

See Title 69, Chapter 10 Boating Regulation

[CMF]

hmm...interesting.



69-10-210. Reporting of boating accidents


d) The report of a boating accident herein required to be made shall not, during any judicial proceeding, be referred to in any way; it shall not be subject to subpoena nor admissible as evidence in any proceeding. Subject to these restrictions, information contained in a boating accident report and any statistical information based thereon will be made available upon request for official purposes to the United States coast guard and any federal agency successor thereto. Any party or individual involved in a boating accident may obtain a copy of the report of the accident which has been filed by requesting same from the commission.

Something else...

69-10-214. Rules and regulations as evidence in courts.

All rules and regulations duly promulgated under the provisions of this chapter by the commission shall be admitted as evidence in the courts of this state when accompanied by an affidavit from the executive director certifying that the rule or regulation has been lawfully adopted and promulgated. Such affidavit shall be prima facie evidence of proper adoption and promulgation of the rule or regulation.

[Superdave]

"If you have a lawyer, he should have jumped all over the contributory negligence issue in your first meeting. i would be concerned here. " He did mention that the first day, but we were just playing a waiting game. It started as a $25,000.00 suit to repair a $14,000.00 BAYLINER ! :eek:
Dave

[delawarerick]

Dave im sorry to see what you are going through. Seems like people look for a free meal ticket. When I was in the Post Office we had through the union a legal fund. Just a thought dont know if that was because we were in the city. Seemed like everybody tried to get hit by a mail vehicle. In time usually the suing party will goof up. By this I mean totally disabled they will be seen doing something. We had a clerk fall at work she was totally disabled about year and half after she was seen bowling. The PO nailed her for fraud. Maybe RM or someone can tell you I think the Homestead Act protects your home but salary garnish can be a problem. Bottom line is its gonna cost and that just plain suks. That said I wish you the best in this unfortunate situation. Rick