I was involved in an accident in my company vehicle several months ago. A lady blew a stop sign at a 4-way stop and t-boned me, but of course said that I pulled out in front of her.

I just received a summons informing me that the company I work for and me personally are now named as defendants as she is suing us.

It's super frustrating and feels like a money grab on her part. Am I to assume I will need my own attorney as I was individually named in the suit?

If so, does anyone have experience with a good attorney in this area of expertise?

I have never been in a lawsuit so this is all new to me. The suit was filed in Liberty County, outside of Houston.

**Cross-posting in Houston and Automotive boards.

I agree with the above.

I have not had to test this, but any of my employees that are in an accident in my trucks are covered by my commercial policy.

I would not hire an attorney yet until you find out what your company says and whether they are going to help you out.

Being named individually along with your company is pretty standard practice for accidents I believe.

Haha - I thought the exact same thing.

lazuras_dc said:

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"These are options, I am not an attorney, and I am not your attorney."

Do disclaimers like this really bear any real meaning? Did someone follow someone's advice online once and then come back and sue that person because there wasn't a disclaimer made ?

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I haven't done the research, so I'm not stating anything definitively, just asking questions.

What could he be sued for? Is he an attorney giving advice or not? If he's not, what duty does he have to the anonymous message board reader? Even if he were, does he have that same duty?

Finally, does advising someone to hire an attorney constitute negligence in ANY way, even if there were a legal duty here?

The insurance co. involved here SHOULD already have a file open. If it were me, I'd send the service to them and let them handle it. They will most likely hire a firm they deal with regularly unless there is some sort of conflict (Plaintiff is/has been one of that firm's clients, etc.). Either way, there is MOST LIKELY a duty to defend (i.e. the insurance company must hire counsel, answer the lawsuit, and proceed with litigation).

I defend companies and their employees in these types of cases but as was already said, your employer's commercial auto policy will likely defend you and appoint counsel, no cost to you. Let your employer know right away that you have been served since you generally only have until the Monday following the expiration of 20 days from the date you were served to file an answer. I would minimize your posting online/on social media about the incident.

i would think companies should put dash cams in their vehicles

Seems like the speed at which she was going when she hit you could be determined.

Couldn't that then be used to conclude that she ran her stop? Seems likely.

Good luck.