Accident As Company Driver, Now Being Sued Personally

I got in a minor accident in NJ.  I missed my exit on the freeway, so I followed my truck GPS to redirect.  GPS led me to a small residential street, which in hindsight I should not have followed.  

It was dark and I couldn't see anything in my mirrors while trying to make the tight right turn.  There was a car parked on the corner with somebody inside.  I was turning very slowly, but I didn't realize I hit anything so I continued for a few feet into the turn while my trailer was pushing into the car.  The person inside honked, and as soon as I realized I hit something, I got out and we called the cops.

The person in the car was not injured, but he didn't speak any English and his nephew was there speaking for him.  I didn't get off too great with the nephew and he threatened to claim injury, although the uncle was completely fine and even said he didn't want to pursue any injury claims. The police arrived, and the nephew said to me they just wanted reimbursement for the car and will not claim any injuries.  The police reports no injuries and that all parties refused medical assistance.

However, I recently received a letter from an attorney stating I am being sued personally for personal injury as the owner and operator of the CMV.  It said to forward the letter to my insurance company or contact them if I didn't have insurance or was self insured. I was a company driver on my way to consignee , and in reality, the person was absolutely fine and the nephew must have coaxed him into trying for a big rig payout.  I was going so slow, that even though the person was in the car, the only type of injuries that would be possible would have been visible on scene.  I was not ticketed by the police.

I have since switched to a different company, but I am not sure what I should be doing.  So my questions are as follows... and I'd appreciate any help with facts please.

1}  The police report just had a leasing company listed as the owner, so is it possible they are mistaking me for an owner/operator and if I mention I was a company driver, will they stop pursuing me and go after my former company's insurance?

2}  Can I be sued personally while I was a company driver performing work duties?

3}  Shouldn't my former company's insurance be dealing with these issues?

4}  Should I contact my former company and speak with them...(I'm a little concerned that our interests are no longer aligned, since I'm at a different company now and didn't leave on the best of terms... not too bad, but not great.)  

5}  Should I ask my former company for the dashcam video?  What about copies of my logs for that day... in case they will try to use something in there against me? 

6}  Is it unwise to contact the attorney and tell them that this is a frivolous lawsuit and that I will not settle and will take it all the way to court? 7}  I'm confident this is a completely frivolous lawsuit, but would it be unwise to try and defend myself in court?

7}  Do I need to hire an attorney to represent me, or is it enough to rely on my former company's insurance?  

8}  Any recommendations for an attorney that helps truckers in these types of matters in NJ?  

Thank you in advance for your help.

You need to speak with a lawyer. Do not trust anything we say as we are not lawyers. Id suggest you contact one ASAP. I don't know what can or cannot be done as far as a personal case against you but a good lawyer will.

Get a lawyer. I’ve heard those that defend themselves without a lawyer, it ends up badly. The court system is complicated. My son has legal issues, and I have attended the hearings, so I have personal experience.

Hopefully Chief Brody will see this and will chime in. One thing I will say is I don’t believe, keyword believe, they have a case against you for personal injury if law enforcement did not document anything that says so. The crash report would have a detailed description of it. It was also be on your motor vehicle report that were you involved in a collision with personal injury involved. I’m sure it does say though who you were employer was so chances are they will end up being involved in this. Which means there insurance will more than likely handle the case on their end though with the insurances lawyer. If that makes sense. That lawyer may or may not represent you. You were under their insurance when the accident happened but you are no longer employed.

Since you said you didn’t leave on the greatest terms though it would probably be in your better interest to contact a lawyer sooner or later to see what his recommendation would be.

 Do not trust anything we say as we are not lawyers

Speak for yourself! My CDL came with a license to practice law in 3 States and a license to practice medicine in 2. The asterisk is that they're only valid at truck stops.

Seriously though, contact a lawyer. Jump on Avvo and do some research then follow with Google. That is the best advice your going to get from this site.

Remember you get what you pay for and zero dollars gets you nothing.

Speak for yourself! My CDL came with a license to practice law in 3 States and a license to practice medicine in 2. The asterisk is that they're only valid at truck stops.

You left out psychology.

And qualification for part time drama coach. Lots of these behind the wheel.

And qualification for part time drama coach. Lots of these behind the wheel.

First place to start is to forward a copy of the letter to your former company. Because you were employed as a company driver they are primarily responsible. It doesn't matter whether you are on good terms with them. They have to defend the suit. I would also respond to the letter from the attorney stating that you have forwarded this to the company in the name of the company and include the dates when you were employed there. The attorney that contacted you would rather go after a company with significant assets as opposed to you.

If your prior company does agree to take full responsibility for the defense of the lawsuit then I would definitely contact an attorney to represent your personal interest.

Correction to what I wrote if your company does NOT agree to take full responsibility to defend the lawsuit then get your own attorney to protect your interest.