Auto Insurance Claims: Minor Car Accident, mumble jumble, sitting in the back seat

Question
Dear Esq.:

I understand that you handle mostly Plaintiff's cases, but I was wondering if
you may be able to assist me. I am a named defendant in a small claims
lawsuit. I was involved in a minor bumper to bumper accident, which caused
no damages to the vehicle and/or to the two people inside the vehicle. The
accident happened on Christmas Eve. I was approaching a stop light. I
reached a complete stop, there was a vehicle in front of me. I saw the light
turn green, but at the same time my 6 year old niece called for my attention.
She was sitting in the back seat. I have to admit I was on vacation and am not
use to having children in the back seat of the car I am driving. When I turned
back to take a look at where I was going, I inadvertently pressed on the gas
and bumped into the vehicle in front of me. Now, since the light was green I
had expected the vehicle in front of me to keep moving; but instead the
driver of the vehicle was in the middle of a phone call. She was talking on her
cell phone and paying no attention to the light. As a result, we were involved
in what I describe to be the most stupidest car accident in America. When I
got out of my vehicle to approach the driver and to see if everyone was okay,
the driver completely ignored me and rolled up her window, showing NO
concern to what had happened. I waited till she got off her cell phone and got
out of the vehicle, she then approached me. I told her to follow me to the gas
station which was a few feet away. She agreed. She immediately called the
police. The police officer did not ticket me, in fact, I got off thinking I had
done nothing wrong. The vehicle was not insured. A few weeks later she
retained an attorney and I am know being sued. I would like to know what
actions can be taken to avoid the process of hiring an attorney and going
through the whole mumble jumble of litigation.

Thank you in advance for your time.

Answer
Hi Anonymous,

First let me say that I am not an attorney. I am a vehicle appraiser and auto claims specialist.

That having been said, regardles of the fact that the car in front of you did not move, you would be considered to be at fault for the accident. If you have actually received suit papers, you need to immediately contact your insurance company to advise them and provide them with a copy of the papers. As part of your insurance policy your insurance company will provide you with a defense attorney if needed. They will attempt to negotiate a settlement before trial or is the claims are baseless they will fight the suit.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh