I was convicted of a "bodily harm" auto accident without a trial. Is this legal?

I was involved in a very minor car accident (the only damage was a small scratch to the other car's rear bumper). After saying she was fine, the other driver later sued my insurance company, who settled out of court without ever telling me anything was going on. No ticket was ever issued, but the state of California hit me with a large amount of points on my license and my insurance was dropped. I was never even notified anything was going on until a year after the accident, when the attorney tried to extort more money out of me. Was it legal fro the Court to convict me without a trial?