My question involves insurance law for the state of: Texas
My husband and 10 year old were in a grocery store parking lot driving down the outside lane (in the correct direction) when a woman coming into the parking lot from the frontage road hit the side of his vehicle.
They got out and she said she was sorry, gave husband all the info from her insurance, said her husband was going to kill her because she jsut got her vehicle repaired from having another accident on that parking lot.
No injuries. No police were called as they do not answer to parking lot accidents here. We called later to verify that was true and the officer said yes.
When husband got home, he reported the claim to her insurance company and to ours. That night her husband called us wanting to settle without getting the insurance company involved. We said we had already reported the claim.
The woman did not report the claim to either insurance company. It took almost 3 weeks before the woman even answered the call from her insurance company to give them a statement and then she called ours saying I had called and cussed her out (slander) and she was filing a claim against us.
She then faxed a drawing to our insurance company showing her coming straight down the lane, and my husband coming straight down the same lane (on his side which would be to her left). She said that my husband swerved to miss a vehicle that was backing out and hit her. (The supposed vehicle would have been to my husbands passenger side, and she was on his drivers side). The drawing shows her drivers side front fender in contact with my husbands front fender. Again, the damage is to the middle of my husbands vehicle. She said there were no witnesses (wouldn't the supposed vehicle backing out be a witness had there really been one??).
Her insurance company denied the claim based on "he said, she said". Our insurance company denied her claim based on the physcial evidence did not match her diagram and description of the accident.
We contacted the TDI and they said they could not make the other insurance company pay our claim.
We filed a small claims suit for property damage, mental anguish (my 10 year old son, because he is clearly upset and "scared" because the woman is lying and getting away with it) and slander.
Now her insurance company's attorneys have decided to defend her.
We received the "answer" in the mail today. From what I understand she says she is not at fault, that she is countersuing because my husband broke
Tx law by not paying attention, and that if she is found guilty, then the amount rewarded should be reduced by an amt the judge thinks my husband is guilty.
We don't have a lawyer and we cannot find anyone who will take the case because it is so small..and no injuries.
They sent a Request for Disclosure. Do we have to answer this? Also, they asked for a jury trial in the answer.
I am beginning to wonder if we should even pursue this any further. Any words of advice??? What else are we going to need to show proof that she is liable for the accident?

