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Ray Pinpillage · · West Egg · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 180

Legal advice from a climbing forum...what could go wrong?

Healyje · · PDX · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 422

GET A LAWYER

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING

DO NOT ACCEPT THE FIRST LOW-BALL CHECK THEY SEND YOU AS IF YOU CASH IT YOU'RE THEN DONE.

Reginald McChufferton · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2012 · Points: 0
JLP wrote:The small claims process is for white trash, IMO, to put it frankly.
JLP wrote: Also - don't go to court. Ever. For anything. Losers who can't manage their own shit go to court. Everyone loses in court.
Wow. Arrogant much? Fucking moron is more like it. You sound like my ignorant cousin who has it all figured out despite the fact that he's on his fourth wife, third bankruptcy and second audit. If only the rest of us mere mortals could sit with ye mighty gods.
Ryan Williams · · London (sort of) · Joined May 2009 · Points: 1,245
Reginald McChufferton wrote: Wow. Arrogant much? Fucking moron is more like it. You sound like my ignorant cousin who has it all figured out despite the fact that he's on his fourth wife, third bankruptcy and second audit. If only the rest of us mere mortals could sit with ye mighty gods.
Something tells me JLP is a little more together than your cousin.

And to think, we almost made it two whole pages without someone making a bitchy, off topic comment.
Christian RodaoBack · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 1,486
20 kN wrote: Everyone is so quick to sue. Granted, lawsuits do have their place; but, if the truck driver made an honest mistake and he is a reasonable, honest and genuine dude, then there is no reason to try to take away his house, car and belongings in a lawsuit because of an accident that anyone, including you, could easily make. OP: That is a crazy photo. I am glad you walked away. My advise would be to try to deal with the insurance companies, and get an attorney you want, but understand that he will take a portion of the claim and pocket it. The truck driver's carrier will not cover your attorney fees, and neither will your carrier unless your carrier appoints an attorney to you. If you want to sue the driver's insurance company, fine. But dont go after the driver personally unless you truly believe he was being grossly negligent. Also, keep in mind that if you do go after the driver, and you win a huge settlement, you probably wont ever get the money (Truck drivers dont exactly drive Ferraris.)
It should go without saying, but I meant the insurance company ie the "deep pockets". Obviously no sense in suing some broke redneck.
Martin le Roux · · Superior, CO · Joined Jul 2003 · Points: 401

Glad to hear that you survived and don't seem to have been seriously injured.

If it were me I'd hold off hiring an attorney. You have a couple of things in your favor: (i) since you were rear-ended, there's no dispute that the other guy was at fault, and (ii) there isn't much room for dispute about the amounts you're trying to recover - it's not as if you're trying to claim a lifetime of medical expenses, or vast amounts for pain & suffering.

On the other hand, an initial consultation with an attorney won't set you back very much (if anything), and you may get some education about the insurance claims process.

Reginald McChufferton · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2012 · Points: 0
Ryan Williams wrote: Something tells me JLP is a little more together than your cousin. And to think, we almost made it two whole pages without someone making a bitchy, off topic comment.
That's rich Ryan. Sorry to interrupt the civil and intelligent tone of this stellar legal advice thread you've been fapping in all day. JLPs comments struck me as being particularly solid. As usual. Please carry on with this circle jerk of a thread. Sorry for interrupting.
a d · · Los Angeles, CA · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 5

You should definitely at least consult with a lawyer. Any worthwhile one will do so for free, and you have nothing to lose by doing so. If you would like a recommendation for a lawyer in the Utah area, PM me (I'm a California lawyer). There are likely ramifications that only a lawyer would be able to point out -- especially because you have at least minor injuries.

Derek Tremblay · · NH · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 110
agd wrote:You should definitely at least consult with a lawyer. Any worthwhile one will do so for free, and you have nothing to lose by doing so. If you would like a recommendation for a lawyer in the Utah area, PM me (I'm a California lawyer). There are likely ramifications that only a lawyer would be able to point out -- especially because you have at least minor injuries.


Yup. Lawyer up dude. Otherwise you can count on getting ramified.
Mut Adelman · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 0

What state was the accident in?

What state do you live in and what state did you buy insurance in?

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0
J Red wrote:I am in the process of getting a lawyer. I have the cheapo insurance so basically I have to pay out of pocket until the other guys insurance company assumes responsibility. The other driver did have insurance (from what I understand).
J Red,
As a fellow climber AND as a RN I am glad to see that you walked away unhurt. many are not as lucky as you have been - thanks God for that.

With THAT said - I am also sorry to hear about your gear. I have a major insurance company and had something like this happen back in 2010 myself. A young kid hit me from behind while I was stopped for a red light (he was prob texting!) and I had to cover my deductible and my rental car until my insurcompanympnay got it all sorted outcollectedetced from HIS insurance company - which they did.

They shoulyoure ryour gear as well. if not - perhaps you might think of setting up a 'Mountain Project' goodwill 'collection' fund for members to donate a few bucks each to help you replace all of your gear? I am far from rich - believe me - but I can feel your pain....

Prayers to you and best wishes things work out in the end as well. It's not much fun - I know!
JohnWesely Wesely · · Lander · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 585

Pics of the gear?

Ryan Williams · · London (sort of) · Joined May 2009 · Points: 1,245
Reginald McChufferton wrote: JLPs comments struck me as being particularly solid.
Except for the ones that caused you to say this?

Reginald McChufferton wrote:Wow. Arrogant much? Fucking moron is more like it.
Reginald McChufferton · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2012 · Points: 0
Ryan Williams wrote: Except for the ones that caused you to say this?
That whooshing noise you hear Ryan is my comment going right over your head.

Nothing but the most intelligent and highest quality mods for this place!
Ryan Williams · · London (sort of) · Joined May 2009 · Points: 1,245
Reginald McChufferton wrote: That whooshing noise you hear Ryan is my comment going right over your head. Nothing but the most intelligent and highest quality mods for this place!
Let's go argue in the boobie thread.
Ian Stewart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2010 · Points: 155

The flow of traffic was 20mph and the guy smashed into you at 80mph. It doesn't look like you were on a highway either, so that speed was likely way over the limit. You have a witness that followed the guy because he was driving recklessly. You were injured bad enough to affect your quality of life for a long time, and possibly forever (minor pains and discomfort sometimes never go away). It's pretty obvious that you'll win any kind of settlement, but how much of one is really the question. Unless there are actually lawyers on here that specialize in this type of work, I wouldn't take advice from anybody online.

The one thing that's already been pointed out though is that you're probably going to be limited by the guy's insurance policy. If he has only basic insurance, you could very likely be maxing it out. If he has a large policy then there's flexibility, but I have no idea how all of it works. If you can find lawyers that offer free or very cheap initial consultations, I would definitely check one out.

As for the climbing gear, I'd be curious to see pictures just for the sake of knowing what it looks like after such an accident.

Glad you're OK. That was definitely a close call...

Ian Stewart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2010 · Points: 155
JLP wrote:How much this is "worth" beyond that is a good question. I'd pull 10-30k out of my butt, as a wild guess - maybe 2-3x your pay for lost time. I don't know. [...] If I didn’t do as well as the most awesome lawyer in town, I’d call the difference “tuition”. If you do go with a lawyer, I'd highly recommend you make yourself very aware of what this range is - which will quickly beg the question of why you need a lawyer to call up the insurance company for you and take 30-50%, when you could have just asked for the same thing yourself.
I think that's the problem...it's hard to put a value on something, and people with experience (eg. lawyers) are going to have a much better idea than any of us here will. Your 10-30k estimate is a pretty huge range...getting 10k by yourself is still less than half the amount if you get 30k and need to pay a lawyer 30% (works out to 21k).

A main factor in this whole thing is how much J Red wants to get out of the situation. If he's content with having his bills paid and nothing on top of that, he could probably sign something today and have the money very soon after with little to no effort. But given the specific circumstances it sounds like there's a bigger pot of gold to be had with more effort. And lawyers always seem to have the biggest pan for finding said gold.

I'm not saying I would hire a lawyer, but I would definitely look into it, especially if they give free consultations. You may be able to go in to a few different ones and say "I'm shopping around for lawyers, what do you think you can get me?" and use those numbers yourself...but then again they might not give you numbers until you sign an agreement or something...I dunno.

For the record, I hate lawyers. I've only had to deal with them on a few occasions, and even when they were "on my side" I felt like they treat me like a piece of shit, or "just another account". On the other hand, I hate having to do the type of work that those lawyers do for me...
WadeM · · Auburn, Ca · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 481

I was hit by a car and it ended up rolling my car. My bike was on top and so it was totalled. My old soccer coach was a lawyer so he helped me draft a letter stating what I wanted in terms of a re-payment. We sent that to their insurance company.

They paid for my car, pain and suffering damages, and for a new bike. For the bike, I went to my local job and asked them for a price quote for an acceptable replacement.

That lawyer letter surely helped. It allowed me to look serious

Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520

Just read JLP's post and do that.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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