Auto Insurance Claims: Opened my door, defence attorney, minor nature

Question
Hello, I hope someone can kind of help me out here. I was driving and then at a stoplight, my son opened his passenger side door to get out of the car, but a bicyclist hit the door and fell, he was ok but the medical reports say he bruised his shoulder and he went to therapy, its been 3 months now and I received a letter stating they are unable to settle the claim, what are the next steps?

Answer
Hi Joanna,

When you say "they are unable to settle the claim", I assume you mean your insurance company and the bicyclist's attorney. Assuming that is correct:

If your insurance company will not meet their demands, the attorney will likely file a law suit against you. If that happens do not panic.  You should immediately send any suit papers you receive to your insurance company, who will provide you with a defence attorney. Once this is done the two attornies will attempt to reach a settlement agreement before it ever comes to court.  If they are unable to reach an agreement then a court date will be sent and everyone will have their day in court. Regardless of the outcome your insurance comapny will pay the amount of the judgement up to the limits of your policy. If your insurance company does asign an attorney to defend you you should ask the attorney if he feel the case will settle within your policy limits. If not, you may need to obtain your own attorney for any amounts in excess of your policy limits. However, it is unlikely this will be necessary given the minor nature of the injuries.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh