The Shoulder
The Shoulder
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Car accidentsdaring-wren-216

Other driver is suing ME personally 2 years after the accident — can they actually do this?

I'm honestly spiraling a little bit right now and could really use some perspective from people who've been through something similar.

So back story: I was involved in a parking lot accident about two years ago. Another driver and I collided — there was some shared fault situation according to both insurance companies, both sides got paid out, everything seemed like it was wrapping up. I had a pretty serious back injury that I'm still dealing with, by the way, which nobody seems to care about.

Fast forward to literally last month. I get a voicemail from the other driver's attorney saying she intends to sue me personally for a significant amount of money. Then — and this is the part that really threw me — my dad (whose car I was borrowing with his permission) got formally served too.

The new injuries she's claiming? They weren't in any of her original medical paperwork. Like, nothing. Not a word. Now suddenly two years later she has all these conditions she's attributing to the crash.

I'm 24, I don't have a pile of money sitting around. I'm still going to physical therapy for MY injury from this same accident. The thought of a lawsuit hanging over my head — and dragging my dad into it — is making me sick to my stomach.

A few things I'm confused about:

  • Can she really wait this long and then just... sue?
  • Does my insurance company defend me personally, or am I on my own?
  • Should my dad get a separate attorney?
  • How worried should I actually be about brand-new injuries she never mentioned before?

Any insight from people who've dealt with anything like this would mean a lot right now. I feel really alone in this.

12replies

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12 replies

  • 11
    curious-fox-502

    Oh man, I went through something eerily similar — other driver came out of nowhere with new claims way after the fact. The first thing I learned the hard way: call your insurance company immediately and tell them you've been served or threatened with a lawsuit. Don't wait. They have an obligation to defend you under your policy (up to your liability limits) and they need to know ASAP. My insurer actually assigned me a defense attorney at no cost to me once I reported it properly.

    • 19
      wise-vole-813

      Not legal advice, but a few things worth knowing: most states have a statute of limitations of 2-3 years for personal injury claims, so depending on where you are, she may have filed right at the edge of the deadline — which is intentional and legal. Your auto liability insurance is supposed to provide you a defense attorney for covered claims; call them today if you haven't. The gap between her original medical records and these new claims will likely be a central issue. Please don't try to handle any communication with her attorney yourself.

  • 17
    bold-finch-929

    The timing here is classic. Two years of silence and then suddenly all these new conditions appear? I'd be very skeptical. Plaintiff attorneys sometimes sit on cases hoping the other side gets complacent or the statute of limitations deadline forces a settlement. Document absolutely everything — your own medical records, your original accident report, any photos from the scene. Don't assume your insurer is fully in your corner either; their interests and yours can diverge when big numbers come up.

  • 13
    candid-heron-615

    Speaking from inside experience — when late-breaking injuries get added to a claim that was already settled on the property side, adjusters do look hard at whether those conditions appear anywhere in the original ER or urgent care notes. If her initial medical records are clean of these new claims, that matters a lot. Also: your dad being served because it was his vehicle is actually pretty standard. It's called a 'negligent entrustment' angle sometimes. He should absolutely loop in your insurance company too since it was his car.

    • 10
      calm-raven-751

      From a medical standpoint, the credibility of newly surfaced injuries really does depend on what the early records say. Conditions that show up two years post-accident with no documentation trail are genuinely hard to connect causally to a crash. That's not me saying she's lying — sometimes things are missed — but it's also a legitimate area for the defense to dig into. Make sure YOUR injury and treatment history is well documented too, since you have an ongoing condition from the same accident.

  • 15
    silent-fox-910

    A couple of practical things: 1. Send everything to your insurer in writing — don't just call, follow up with an email or letter so there's a paper trail that you reported the lawsuit promptly. 2. Your dad may technically need to notify his insurance (if the car was on his policy) separately, depending on how the suit is worded against him. 3. Gather every scrap of documentation from the original accident — police report, any photos, your urgent care records. Your insurer's defense attorney will want all of it.

    • 7
      quiet-parent434

      Thanks for sharing. Hope things are getting a little easier for you.

  • 19
    steady-grouse-487

    I just want to say — I'm so sorry you're carrying all of this. You're the one with the serious injury from this crash and now you're the one being sued. That feels so backwards and unfair. Please lean on people around you right now and try not to let the anxiety eat you alive. You have insurance for exactly this kind of situation.

  • 6
    cool-grouse-045

    Three things, bluntly: (1) Call your insurance company today — not tomorrow, today. (2) Don't post details about the accident anywhere public, including here. (3) Do not respond to the other driver's attorney without your own representation in place. Everything else can wait. Those three things cannot.

    • 9
      quiet-neighbor232

      That lines up with what my adjuster told me too.

    • 4
      weathered-sidewalk539

      Did the timeline change anything for you? Mine dragged on for weeks.

  • 17
    gentle-kestrel-813

    Quick question — when the insurance companies paid out originally, did you or your dad sign any kind of release? Because sometimes when a settlement check goes out on the property damage side people assume that closes everything, but bodily injury claims can stay open separately. If no release was signed on the injury portion, that's probably how she still has standing to sue. Worth confirming with your insurer exactly what was and wasn't resolved.