So about 3 years ago (April 28, 2008, to be exact!), I was in a car accident. I was on my way home from work, and decided to pick up some dinner from Happi House. As I exited the freeway and proceeded to merge over to the left-turn lane, the pick-up in front of me stopped short and I rear-ended him. We exchanged info and he showed me there was no damage to his car (meanwhile, mine was totaled...). My mom came to pick me up, and that was that.
A few days later, I got a call from the owner of the truck claiming that the woman he was with (turns out the woman was driving his truck) was having some neck pains. Of course she is... I immediately referred him to the insurance company; afterall, that's what they're for! I didn't hear from my insurance company for quite some time, so I figured it was all over.
If any of you have been in a car accident where someone is claiming to have been injured, you know this isn't the end of the story. And I, too, will never be so naive as to think that everything could go this smoothly. A good two years passed before I heard anything again, and this is where it all goes bananas!
The woman I hit was filing a claim against my father for an accident on April 28, 2008 (the only fact that was correct when all's said and done!). She claimed he was driving at erratic speeds (or accelerating from a complete stop), and slammed into her truck while exiting the freeway. When the police came (which never happened), he was arrested for a DUI! Like I said, BANANAS! This all went very far with doctors, lawyers, DMV, everything! I even found out, when trying to change insurance companies after getting married, that there was no accident on my record, only my dad's!
To sum up, we did our part and recorded our official statement this past November. I then heard from my insurance company's lawyer a few weeks ago that all was settled, and my father and I were in the clear. They went to mediation, and the woman whom I hit showed up with a letter from her own doctor stating that there was nothing physically wrong with her. How stupid are you?! I guess no one did a psychological exam... So she had to sign some paperwork stating that she wouldn't come back and sue us for money she wasn't due, and NOW, that was that!
As I washed dishes today, for some reason I started thinking about this whole crazy exchange, and realized (as will probably never happen again) I am thankful for lawyers. Every once in a while they get things right, and for those times, I am extremely grateful!
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