Should i have to pay for someone elses mistake?
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Should i have to pay for someone elses mistake?
My vehicle broke down on the shoulder of the highway out of direct
traffic. A motorcyclist was drinking and decided to drive on the
shoulder to pass traffic and hit the back of my vehicle. He died on
impact but his family is trying to get me to pay medical bill due to the
vehicle being in a not well lit area of the highway. Am i at fault? what
can i do to prevent this?
Asked on July 13, 2016 under Accident Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Clearly, you are not entirely at fault: he should not have been drinking, and should not have been driving on the shoulder; in fact, reasonably, he would seem to be mostly at fault. But you may be partialy at fault, if you could have stopped elsewhere but did stop in a relatively unsafe (e.g. poorly lit) area. That means that if they were to sue you, they might recover part or a fraction of the bills from you. You would not have to pay anything unless they sue you and win; if they do look like they are going to sue, you may wish to consider trying to settle for some small amount, to avoid litigation.
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