Help: My sis is getting sued.
 

in detail my sis got into an accident 2 years ago. it was my sister's fault, she owned up to it. the damage was minimal.

the other car suffered a broken headlight and a new bumper and fender as well.

the lady on the other end of the claim (one not at fault) got out of the car "grabbing her neck" and claiming she was in pain.

my sister now received a letter in the mail stating that she is now being sued for personal injuries. Again, 2 years from the date of the injury. she has a court date appearance and a legal appointed lawyer for this matter.

i have a feeling that the lady was playing "the smart card" all along and trying to lie about her injuries but that's just me. i have a bias opinion but could anyone enlighten me about this situation?

i know that there have been cases where people file for injuries that they otherwise didn't experience and are now trying to make an extra buck thru this process.

i want to know if it is possible to prove that one may be fraudulent beyond a reasonable doubt in this case.

PS: sorry if this doesn't make that much sense, i'll be hovering around for updates to help paint a better picture. Thanks RSer's

will be needing some pics of your sister to assess the issue properly

Injuries do show up after the fact. I have a seriously screwed up shoulder from an accident I was in years ago that's just rearing it's ugly head now. Unfortunitely I didn't leave my claim opened or I would be milking ICBC for all I could for the mega pain I'm suffering now.

That said people do fake them.

Your sister needs an accident and injury lawyer and that's who can give her the advice she needs. It will be expensive but it will save her bigger expenses in the end.

Did she have extended third party liability insurance?

As long as she went through ICBC, then it will be ICBC that that lady is sueing.

I hope your sister went through ICBC.

yeah she went thru icbc, called them and went in for a meeting with them. the whole process was thru icbc, no delays in contacting them too. and she does have third party liability.

im sure you're mentioning about her injuries. she suffered none whatsoever. on a comical level, it was my 18yr old sis vs. a 38 yr old lady.

if someone is seriousy injuried the neck during accident, he/she wouldnt be able to "get out" the car and able to move his/her neck

i call bs

has paramedic attend and sent her to hospital afterward ?

This is not true at all.

Actually due to adreniline and shock most people with bone/muscle injuries say they're fine. Fractures show up pretty quickly but sprains/strains and joint injuries often aren't usually readily apparent for several days.

That's not true. A lot of times, immediately after an accident/hard workout, you may not feel the pain due to many possible issues (adrenaline).
Remember Biology 11 Fight or flight.
It may take a few days for you to notice the body is sore.

And pain is one of those things that are really subjective and hard to prove real or fake. Different people have different levels of pain tolerance. I have no issues with needles yet some people are so sensitive that they freeze up at the thought of a shot.

they need to show proof that they've been visiting the doctor. (receipts, etc.) otherwise they have no case against your sister.

wow i thought maybe days, weeks few months, but not 2 years.

ICBC will send you a lawyer and take care of the whole thing

And if you really want to call BS, hire a private eye to snap photos of accuser doing shit otherwise not possible with a strained neck. Might be costly but it could save you otherwise.

As far as I know, there is no statute of limitations. As long as the file is still open, the person should still be able to claim for injuries/damage/trama.

Plus, her rates have already gone up due to the accident and everything was handled by ICBC. It would be in ICBC's best interest to pay as little as possible for this injury claim so I can see them being very tough with them and making sure all their I's are dotted and T's crossed.

that's bio 12.

ICBC should be representing your sister on your behalf. They have a plethora of lawyers who will do nothing but negotiate the amount of settlement as low as possible.

The only draw-back that I saw, is that sometimes these lawyers drag out the claim for years on end to sometimes discourage the suing party to continue on the process. Unfortunately for you, it drags on the matter for you as well and you'll get called in for "fact finding interviews" and "questioning" at the most inconvenient of times (if you have work) at the most inconvenient places.

Again, I'm not sure but it's just my assumption that they make it as troublesome as possible to discourage the other party to continue on the process but it also inadvertently becomes troublesome for you too.

That is why he is calling BS cuz she immediately grabbed her neck after she got out the car. :bullshit:

If your sister went through ICBC intially then I would suggest calling ICBC or going in person to let them know this. Since she had 3rd party liability ICBC is responsible for the lady's injuries not your sister.

Just to sum it up my AUNT who got reare ended like 5years ago is still milking money from ICBC. I don't support her actions but what can I do.

If it was me I might do it as well assuming I did get injury.

I agree with you in that it would appear to be BS when she grabs her neck right away even after a small fender bender, but again soft tissue injuries are hard to diagnose and every person's pain tolerance is different.

Maybe she already had a sore neck from giving too many BJ's so it really isn't that hard for her to say her neck hurts after the accident.

Actually my ortho tells me it's not uncommon at all. What happened with me was I got in a car accident about 2 years ago and had a small fracture in my shoulder. I have an extremely high pain threshold, it was on my scale 'uncomfortable' but not excessively troublesome, I wasn't even aware of the fracture until recently a calcium deposit in the mishealed fracture started to cause me a lot of grief (to the point that it's impairing my range of motion). It didn't show up on the X rays my doctor initially got for me so he thought it was a muscle issue and sent me to physio.

Fortunitely I got a second opinion from an Ortho at my clinic who sent me for an ultrasound (which has a much shorter wait time then an MRI thankfully) and he saw it. The Dr tells me it happens all the time.

This is why doctors have medical insurance so they are protected when they are sued for misdiagnosing things. ;)

i was thinking the same when i read this thread

not really true. I got rearended way back in univ. I even saw the guy coming so i was braced and ready for impact. The hit caused 12k damage to my rear end but the impact didnt feel insanely bad because i saw it coming. I got out no problem and barely felt anything for a week. after 2 weeks I was getting headaches and lower back pain. If I stood for a long time during the day, the pain would be killer when i laid down. This went on for over 8 months.

In at least half the collisions, even the small fender benders I've been involved in over the years I've had a sore neck and shoulders almost immediately so that doesn't strike me as being odd. That being said I've been lucky that symptoms have generally faded within a few days and have had no lasting injuries.