Sued After a Car Accident? What Happens and What to Do First

Most injury claims settle with the insurer and the driver never sees a courtroom. A lawsuit means the other person's claim did not settle: your insurer disputed fault, offered less than they would accept, or the deadline to sue was approaching and their attorney filed to preserve the claim. The lawsuit names you because you are the person alleged to have caused the harm; the insurer is not usually a party and juries are often not told it exists.

Being named feels personal and alarming, but in the ordinary case it is procedural. The insurer that was handling the claim continues to handle it, now through a defense lawyer it assigns. Your involvement is to cooperate: provide information, give a deposition, and attend trial if there is one. The money, up to your limit, is the insurer's.

The exceptions, where you are exposed personally, are what the rest of this page is about. They are uncommon but serious, and they are the reason to read every letter your insurer sends and to ask questions early.

A lawsuit arrives as a summons and complaint, delivered by a process server, by mail, or occasionally by someone leaving it at your door. The summons states a deadline to file a response with the court, commonly 20 or 30 days from service depending on the state. Missing it allows the plaintiff to ask for a default judgment, which is a judgment for what they asked for without a trial.

Send the papers to your insurer the same day, by the method the policy specifies, and confirm receipt in writing. Note the date you were served. The insurer will assign defense counsel, who will file the response. If you have not heard from the assigned lawyer within a week, call the insurer and ask for the lawyer's name and confirmation that the response deadline is being handled.

Do not call the person suing you or their lawyer. Do not post about it. Do not throw away anything related to the crash, including the car if you still have it, photographs, or messages. Write down what you remember about the crash while it is fresh, for your lawyer only.

The first exposure is a judgment above your policy limit. If you carried $25,000 and the injured person's damages are $200,000, your insurer pays $25,000 and the remaining $175,000 is a judgment against you personally. Collection depends on the state's exemptions, but wage garnishment, liens on property, and bank levies are the tools, and some states suspend the driver's license until a crash judgment is paid or arranged.

The second is a claim the policy does not cover. Punitive damages, usually sought for drunk or reckless driving, are excluded by many policies and uninsurable in some states. Intentional conduct is excluded. Driving for hire with the app on, or using the car for business in a way the policy excludes, can void coverage for that trip. A reservation of rights letter is the insurer telling you it sees one of these issues.

The third is having no insurance. An uninsured driver who is sued has no defense counsel and no one to pay a judgment. Consult an attorney immediately, because the response deadline still applies and a default is the worst outcome. Attorneys handle these cases for a fee rather than on contingency, and the cost of a defense is small compared with a default judgment.

Suppose you rear-ended a car at a light while looking at a navigation screen. The other driver claimed neck and back injuries. Your insurer, on a $50,000 policy, offered $18,000, arguing the treatment was excessive. Fourteen months after the crash, you are served with a lawsuit seeking damages for medical bills of $42,000, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

You send the papers to your insurer the day they arrive. A defense lawyer calls within a few days, files an answer, and explains that the insurer continues to control the defense and the money. You give a deposition eight months later. Before trial, the plaintiff's attorney sends a formal demand for the $50,000 policy limit, noting that the damages now exceed it.

This is the moment that matters for you. Your insurer owes you a duty to accept a reasonable settlement within limits when it can, to protect you from an excess judgment. If it accepts the demand, the case ends and you owe nothing. If it refuses and a jury awards $120,000, you face a $70,000 judgment, and in most states you may have a claim against your insurer for the excess because it failed to settle. Ask the defense lawyer in writing whether a within-limits demand has been made and what the insurer intends to do. All figures are hypothetical.

The case may take a year or more. The habits below protect you throughout it.

• Keep copies of everything from the insurer and the defense lawyer, and read reservation of rights letters carefully.
• Ask the defense lawyer to confirm in writing the policy limit, whether the plaintiff has demanded it, and whether the insurer has any coverage concerns.
• If you receive a reservation of rights letter or a coverage denial, consider consulting your own attorney, separate from the one the insurer assigned.
• Cooperate fully with the defense: respond to requests promptly, prepare for your deposition, and tell the lawyer everything, including facts that seem bad.
• Do not discuss the case with the plaintiff, with mutual acquaintances, or on social media.
• Do not sign anything from the plaintiff's side without the defense lawyer reviewing it.
• If you were uninsured, retain a defense attorney before the response deadline and ask about negotiating a payment arrangement.

The response deadline is set by state court rules and is often 20 or 30 days from service, sometimes shorter for certain courts. The consequences of an unpaid crash judgment also vary: many states suspend the license and registration of a driver who does not pay a judgment arising from a crash, and some require proof of future financial responsibility for years afterward.

The duty to settle within limits exists in every state but with different standards. In some, an insurer that unreasonably rejects a within-limits demand is liable for the whole excess verdict; in others the insured must show more. Punitive damages are uninsurable by public policy in several states, which means a drunk driving defendant is personally exposed to them regardless of policy language.

Comparative negligence works in your favor as a defendant. In most states the plaintiff's recovery is reduced by their own share of fault, and in Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia any fault on the plaintiff's part defeats the claim entirely. In no-fault states, the plaintiff must meet an injury threshold to sue you for pain and suffering at all, and the defense lawyer will test it. Minimum liability limits vary by state and are the reason exposure is common: several states still require only $25,000 per person.

Being sued does not prevent you from making your own claim. If the other driver shared fault, you have a claim against their insurer for your injuries, and it is common for both drivers in a disputed crash to claim against each other. Your claim is brought as a counterclaim in the same lawsuit or as a separate claim, and the deadline for it runs from the crash, not from when you were served.

Your own injury claim is handled by an attorney you choose, usually on contingency, not by the defense lawyer the insurer assigned, whose job is only to defend you. Tell the defense lawyer that you intend to pursue your own claim so the two can be coordinated.

Ask Legal Matters is a free claim-review request service, not a law firm. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in your state, and an attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say whether a claim exists. If you have been sued and were hurt in the same crash, or if you have been sued without insurance and need to understand your exposure, you can request a free claim review.

• Car Accident Claims in the United States: The Complete Guide
• At Fault in a Car Accident? Comparative Negligence Explained
• What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement? What Sets the Value
• Back and Neck Injury Settlement After a Car Accident: Factors
• Bicycle Accident Claim: Hit by a Car While Riding
• Can I Sue for a Slip and Fall? Premises Liability Explained
• Can I Sue My Employer for a Work Injury? Workers' Comp vs Lawsuit

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