Dad got sued 8 months after a fender-bender — his own insurer just flipped on him. Help?
I'm posting this for my dad because he's pretty overwhelmed and doesn't really know how to navigate any of this. English is his second language and legalese is basically a third, so I'm trying to do research on his behalf.
Here's the situation: About eight months ago my dad was driving his work van on his lunch break when he tried to make a left turn at a notoriously confusing intersection — the lane lines are basically ghosts at this point, super faded and hard to read. Another car was turning at the same time and they sideswiped each other. Both vehicles had what I'd call cosmetic damage — scuffed bumpers, nothing structural. Everyone walked away. No ambulance, no ER.
Fast forward and now my dad is being sued over alleged injuries from this person. The lawsuit amount is significant and our whole family is stressed.
A few wrinkles that make this complicated:
- There's a witness video from a bystander. The responding officer reviewed it and literally wrote in the report that fault was unclear from the footage — but the diagram drawn in the same report somehow makes my dad look responsible. Those two things don't line up to me.
- The driver of the other car apparently didn't have a valid license. The car was owned by the passenger, who handled all the talking at the scene.
The biggest gut-punch: my dad's insurance company originally told him not to stress, they'd handle it and defend him. Two months later they completely reversed course and now they're saying something very different. He's terrified he's going to be on the hook personally.
What kind of lawyer does he even need here? Does he have any options if his own insurer seems to be abandoning him? Has anyone been through something like this?