The Shoulder
The Shoulder
69
sharp-bison-283

Other driver's suing my son even though BOTH insurers said he wasn't at fault??

I'm honestly floored right now and could use some perspective from people who've been through something like this.

My son — he's 24, still on our family policy — was in an accident back in the spring. Both insurance companies did their investigations and landed in the same place: he was not at fault. The other driver's insurer has been actively working with us on some leftover expenses, and we've already been reimbursed our deductible. Things felt like they were winding down.

Then yesterday a process server showed up at our door.

The other driver is suing my son personally. The complaint is asking for a huge amount — pain and suffering, emotional distress, current and future medical bills, the whole kitchen sink. Fine, I get that lawsuits happen. But here's the part that's making my head spin:

The lawsuit lists something like 20 unnamed "Doe" defendants who are supposedly my son's employees, employers, OR people he was working under — all allegedly operating the vehicle together and causing the crash. My son is 24, works at a hardware store, and was driving home alone on a Tuesday afternoon. The complaint is also internally contradictory — at one point it says the other driver was traveling westbound on a specific road, and then two paragraphs later it says he was reversing onto that same road. Those can't both be true.

We've already tried reaching our insurer but it's a weekend so we're in limbo.

I guess my questions are:

  • Is this the kind of thing lawyers just throw at the wall hoping someone settles?
  • Does our insurer take over defending him, or do we need our own attorney?
  • Should we be genuinely scared, or is this as flimsy as it looks?

Any experience with this would mean a lot right now. The anxiety is real.

13replies

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13 replies

  • 24
    humble-owl-239

    Oh man, we went through almost exactly this kind of thing — lawsuit filed even after insurers had already sorted out fault. The short version: our insurer assigned a defense attorney at no cost to us, handled everything, and the case eventually got dropped. The key thing I remember being told is that once a lawsuit is served, your insurer's job shifts to defending you, not just paying claims. Call them first thing Monday morning and use the word 'lawsuit' and 'summons' right away — that tends to get things moving faster than just saying you have a question.

    • 16
      mellow-badger-484

      A few things worth knowing here:

      1. Your insurer almost certainly has a duty to defend your son under the liability portion of the policy. That means they should provide and pay for a defense attorney — you shouldn't be out-of-pocket for legal fees. 2. The Doe defendant boilerplate is extremely common. Attorneys use it as a placeholder in case they discover additional parties later. It looks alarming but it's largely procedural. 3. The internal contradictions you're describing could actually be useful down the line — inconsistencies in a complaint can support motions to dismiss or at minimum undermine the plaintiff's credibility.

      Not legal advice, just stuff I've seen in handling files. First call Monday: your insurer's claims line. Say the words 'I've been served with a lawsuit' clearly.

    • 1
      quiet-survivor617

      Really glad you posted an update — gives the rest of us some hope.

  • 9
    bright-crow-869

    The fact that both insurers found your son not at fault means almost nothing to a civil court, unfortunately. Insurance determinations and legal liability are two different worlds. That said, the 'Doe defendants' stuff and the contradictory facts in the complaint are pretty classic signs of a rushed filing — sometimes attorneys file before they've even fully built their case, just to beat a statute of limitations deadline. Doesn't mean it'll go anywhere, but don't assume it'll just disappear on its own either.

  • 7
    tidy-wolf-236

    Not legal advice, but I'll say this: contradictory factual allegations and boilerplate Doe defendants are not unusual in personal injury complaints — especially early ones. What matters more is whether the underlying facts actually support a negligence claim, and if both carriers investigated and placed fault elsewhere, that's a meaningful data point. Your insurer's duty to defend is broader than their duty to indemnify, so they should step in even if the case looks weak. Get that claim reported in writing ASAP.

  • 9
    careful-dove-729

    Speaking from experience on the other side of the desk — when I'd see lawsuits like this come in, especially ones with sloppy pleadings and contradictory facts, they were usually filed by smaller PI firms doing volume work. They file, see who flinches, and hope for a nuisance settlement. The moment your insurer gets assigned a defense attorney, the dynamic changes completely. The plaintiff's lawyer suddenly has to actually prove something instead of just waiting for a check.

    That said — do NOT let anyone in your family communicate directly with the plaintiff or their attorney. Not even a 'hey what's this about' text. Everything goes through your insurer and their counsel.

    • 0
      kind-traveler289

      That lines up with what my adjuster told me too.

  • 19
    humble-crow-182

    Just want to check in — how is your son holding up emotionally? Being served with a lawsuit is genuinely shocking, especially when you feel like you did nothing wrong. The anxiety and that feeling of 'the world is upside down' is real and valid. Make sure he knows this is something the adults and the insurance company will handle, and that he doesn't need to carry it alone. Stress like this can actually affect physical health too, so keep an eye on him.

    • 9
      steady-wanderer137

      Going through something similar right now. Did following up actually move the needle for you?

  • 12
    steady-stoat-525

    Three things and only three things matter right now: (1) Don't panic. (2) Report the lawsuit to your insurer the second they open Monday — not as a general inquiry, as a lawsuit that requires a defense response with a deadline. (3) Nobody in your family talks to anyone on the other side about this. Not on the phone, not in a parking lot, not on social media. That's it. Everything else is noise until your insurer assigns a defense attorney.

  • 17
    silent-wolf-488

    I don't want to dismiss your concern but I'm curious — did anyone actually look into whether there's some injury the other driver claims they have? Like sometimes these suits look ridiculous on the surface but there's a real medical thing underneath driving it. Not saying your son is liable, just that understanding what the other driver is actually claiming medically might help you understand why a lawyer took the case. Do you know if they went to the hospital after the accident?

    • 19
      curious-crow-465

      I'm so sorry you're dealing with this — the weekend timing makes it so much worse because you're just sitting there with no answers. Sending good thoughts to you and your son. It really does sound like this might be a lot of legal bluster, but I totally understand why it doesn't feel that way right now.

  • 18
    spry-raven-050

    I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but you're actually in a better position than a lot of people who get hit with lawsuits. You have documentation that both carriers investigated and reached the same conclusion. You have an active insurer relationship. And you caught this immediately and are already thinking through next steps. That's a lot more than most people have at this stage. Hang in there — this kind of thing often looks much scarier at the start than it ends up being.