My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: California
Last year I was in an auto accident that resulted in an injury and was determined my fault. The injured did not leave in an ambulance, and even clocked into work after filing the police report. My insurance has been negotiating with their insurance since. Today, I was served with a court summons notifying me that I am being sued by the injured party because what they want from me is more than what my policy covers. They want 40,000 and my policy only covers 25,000. I talked to my insurance rep today to give him my court summons and learn more about the case. I was informed that based on the evidence, my insurance decided that they deserve $6,000 which is well within my claim. They're going through a private practice because even their insurance company won't negotiate 40,000. I understand injury and medical bills, and i believe they should be compensated and awarded what it's WORTH, but nothing more. My mom believes they drove by the house and saw that it's a nice-looking house (in a dumpy neighborhood) and now they want to milk us for everything.
My questions:
1) My insurance is going to provide me with legal defense - should I go this route? it's much less expensive than hiring a private lawyer, but should I trust it?
2) What are their chances at winning the entire 40,000?
3) Even if this is a civil case, will this show up as a glitch on background checks? I'm in college to become a teacher and I don't want this to hold me back.
-Cindy

