About the Law
Andrew Myers
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I was driving behind another car that slammed on its brakes to stop for a yellow light. The car next to that car went through. I didn't have car insurance and now I am getting demands for $5,000 to fix the lady's car. Can I file a small claim against her to prove she helped to cause the crash by stopping too suddenly or should I just settle?
The "stopped short" defense that you are thinking about does not always work so well. The reason is, the rules of the road require motor vehicle operators to always maintain safe and adequate following distance behind the vehicle in front. This is the law, even if few drivers observe it recently. The rules of the road also require that all drivers keep their vehicles under control at all times. So, driving into the back of another car usually violates both of these rules.
In an actual case, one of my clients slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting an animal that darted out into the road. The driver in back claimed my client "stopped short." Fortunately, my client prevailed. Things like this happen and that's why the rules of the road exist, whether 90 percent of drivers follow them or not.
Had the "stopped short" defense been presented more clearly, it might have worked, they might have at least gotten an offset against the total amount of recovery. Don't waste your time suing her, let her sue you and then, in discovery, demand all of the documents on which the claim for damages is based.
I hope that you do not think I am paranoid, but today when I went outside there was a large, silver colored van parked not far from my house, on the other side of the street, parked against the traffic. When they saw me, they drove off. I have someone threatening to sue me and I am wondering if this is how process servers find out where you live before they serve court papers.
If they were process servers, they would have given you papers and been done with it. Also, in many jurisdictions, all a process server has to do is tape the envelope to your front door and you are served. This is worded in the service rules and statutes as leaving at the last known abode.
They may have been investigators of some type. Although, if my investigator ever conducted himself like that, he wouldn't be my investigator any more. Insurance companies regularly and aggressively use surveillance, especially in worker's compensation cases. I am not paranoid, I am experienced. So, perhaps someone on your street is on worker's compensation. They may have been ready to go anyhow.
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Andrew Myers of Derry has law offices in Derry and North Andover, Mass. He is a member of the American Association for Justice and the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association. Send questions to andrew@attorney-myers.com.
