Can she really win this lawsuit???

My husband was just served papers today saying that we are being sued from an accident that happened a year ago. The accident was his fault. we were on vacation and lost going about 25mph and hit the car in front of us. There was three people in the car the male driver the female side passenger and male back passenger. The male said his neck hurt a bit after the accident so he went by ambulence to the hospital. we called afterwards and he said everything was fine. THE FEMALE is the one that is suing. But she was FINE and didnt go to the hospital. SHe was asking me how I was because I was pregnant at the time. Now shes suing us. Whats going to happen? Will our insurance take care of it or what? Im soo stressed now! any advise or anyone that went through something like this would be most helpful!

thanks all for your advice. Yeah shes suing for pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life ...the whole 9// I called my insurance adjuster and they are going to handle it..so hopefuuly all will be ok.

Since you leave out what state this accident occurred in and where the suit is pending some questions can't be answered except as generalizations (i.e. can she bring the suit, is it timely (in NY, the time is 3 yrs post accident, other states its 2 years and in others it could be shorter or longer). As to whether or not she can win, there is not enough information to accurately answer your question (what are her injuries, what is required by your state to sue, what county are in you (sometimes that makes a huge difference), how long did she treat, how bad was the hit, did she loose time from work, etc.) at this stage. The best answer is maybe.
From a liability (who's fault was the hit) standpoint, without knowing more than you have provided, the rear impact to the car FEMALE was a passenger in puts that in her pocket as a sold win (even with an explanation for the hit by your husband that is excusable, she will still be successful in a suit against her driver (I assume she sued him too). Damages (pain and suffering, injury, lost earnings) cannot be determined on what you know at this point in the litigation.
You husband, assuming he is the only one named on the suit, needs to contact the insurance carrier and advise that he has been served with suit by FEMALE on such & such date. The carrier will ask that copies of the documents be sent to them. You can also ask your insurance broker to contact your insurance carrier for you (but really, it's better to just do it yourself the same way you would if you had an accident). DO NOT WAIT TO NOTIFY THE CARRIER; IF YOU WAIT, YOU RUN THE RISK OF THE CARRIER DISCLAIMING COVERAGE AND NOT DEFENDING YOU or DEFENDING YOU BUT REFUSING TO PAY IN THE EVENT THE SUIT IS SUCCESSFUL. Once the insurance carrier has had an opportunity to review the documents, the carrier will likely contact your husband for additional information and will forward the documents to their attorneys for handling. You will receive correspondence from the attorney for you at the insurance company who will defend you.
It doesn't matter that only 1 person went to the hospital. Many times, in the heat of the moment, adrenalin will keep you from feeling the extent of your injuries. She will, however, as part of her suit need to establish the nature and extent of her injuries (your attorneys will suss that all out).
It is difficult to say if FEMALE will be successful in her suit without knowing the laws of your state. In many states, you must met a certain "threshold" to be successful and even in those instances where you don鈥檛 met the threshold, the carrier will sometimes still pay as it is simpler to make the problem go away than defend.
Your insurance carrier and insurance provided attorney will handle 99.5% of the details involved in this claim brought by FEMALE. You and your husband are responsible for the 0.5% that requires your cooperation; you will need to provide them with certain information, respond to letters and/or phone calls, and may/or may not need to appear at a deposition (that's likely quite some time from now).
So long as you timely notify your carrier of the suit being served and cooperate with them, the carrier will take care of all the details and your policy will make any payment when/if the matter is settled with FEMALE. If your policy will not cover the anticipated settlement (i.e. based on her claimed injuries, and claimed demand for damages it will be Y dollars but your policy only covers X dollars), your carrier will advise you to seek an attorney to protect your interests from X dollars to Y dollars (THIS IS RARE and I would not lose sleep over this possibility at this point.) Worry about it if and when it happens. The vast majority of carriers will cover their insureds for the difference about policy limits if necessary (it makes them look good).
Finally, it is unlikely that FEMALE will take the first offer made and in all likelihood you won't know what that is or when it is made. Let the insurance company lawyers worry about that. And FEMALE will be strongly counseled to NOT TAKE THE FIRST OFFER as it is inevitably a ridiculously low figure and truthfully, she can't afford to take it and pay her attorney.
Just call your carrier and let them take care of the details. Respond when they contact you and all else will be fine.

Glad you found it helpful. TN rules will apply as to her ability to prove damages. TN has a short statute of limitations 1 year; they also deem you to have state minimum coverage of $25,000/50,000 so your policy (it's on the first page of your policy telling you what your coverage is) from NC will either need to meet or exceed that coverage (if it is less, the carrier will consider it to go to the TN state minimum). The 50,000 she is suing for is the combined maximum payable under the TN law for multiple people injured in an accident. It is highly and I mean highly unlikely she will go after personal assets as her lawsuit sets the limit of recovery at 50,000 (if she wanted more than the policy amount she would havehad to ask for it in the lawsuit). Good luck to you.

If you have liability insurance, notify your insurer immediately. They will assume your defense and pay any judgment. The fact that she was no immediately injured is relevant but not dispositive. Many soft-tissue injuries will not show up for a couple day.

Turn it over to your insurance company. A year isn't that unusual.

What is she suing you for? Pain and suffering? What...

Accidents can often have latent injuries, especially in the back and neck. And a year is probably within the statute of limitations. She will have to provide proof that any injuries are resultant from the accident, which will require an impartial doctor to testify the fact. If she gets that, she'll probably win the suit. I would definitely hire a lawyer specializing in traffic accidents at this point.

I'm unsure as to whether the insurance would cover any settlement or not. I'm thinking probably not. Someone's insurance (either your husband's or the driver of the other vehicle or the plaintiff's) car insurance should pay her doctor fees, but any other retribution she sues for would likely be your husband's responsibility.

I'm not surprised - you have a year to file a lawsuit over something of this nature, so she waited until the last minute. Your insurance company will assign a lawyer to the case and they will more than likely offer her a settlement to make her go away (which she'll probably accept - sounds like she wants some quick cash). If she refuses the offer and it goes to court, your insurance company will represent you and pay for any expenses. Of course now she'll have to PROVE she has a case or risk being stuck with legal expenses if she loses, so I'm guessing she'll take the initial settlement and you won't hear another word about it.