Posted by mair on March 4, 2003, at 15:29:31
In reply to I'm losing it..., posted by judy1 on March 4, 2003, at 13:25:28
Judy
I know this seems awful, but really the complaint you've probably been served I'm sure way overstates the claim. Unless your auto insurance coverage is way low, then the insurance company has an obligation to defend you and to pay the claim. Even if it is quite deficient, sometimes a homeowner's policy, if you have one, will cover the overage. And even assuming that you don't have homeowners insurance to help cover what an auto policy won't, if you're like most people, you and your husband hold most of your assets in joint names. Probably the only assets this guy could reach would be those in your name alone. But really going to this end is pretty remote. It's probably very very unlikely that this would lead to the kind of financial ruin you fear, or even financial distress.
Also there may be mechanisms to keep this guy from dredging up your mental health history, especially if it's not at all relevant to what happened. Talk to your attorney about this. Also the fact that your psychiatrist may be asked to give a deposition does not at all mean he'll ever end up in court or that you'll ever end up in court, for that matter. The huge majority of claims are settled before a trial occurs.
Also remember that discovery is a 2 way street. This guy has to come up with somne convincing evidence that what he says is true - about his own medical condition and his own ability to work - usually insurance companies are pretty good at sniffing (and snuffing) out the more ridiculous claims. It's alot easier to make wild claims on paper than it is to follow through with them in oral testimony.
Was an accident report submitted and did it support his claim of what happened? Did the police cite you for running a red light? Is there some evidence that he was speeding or had a good opportunity to avoid the accident? Lots of states have laws which serve to diminish or eliminate a possible recovery where the claimant bears some responsibility for the claim as well.
There's no doubt that being sued can cause alot of anxiety and mental distress. I know this from unfortunate first hand experience. That being said, you'll do yourself a great favor if you can get into the mindset that it will be awhile before this all works itself out, and that in all likelihood, even the worst that can happen isn't, in the grand scheme, all that bad. You have to try not to be anxious about the outcome since the outcome will be so long in coming.
So bury yourself in the closet for awhile maybe taking some deep breaths to calm yourself down, but skip the pills because things really aren't as bad as they seem right now and one day, this too will just be an unpleasant memory but not the disaster you fear.
Mair
poster:mair
thread:205849
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030203/msgs/205871.html