Lawsuits are an epidemic. All you have to do is watch TV during certain times of day. You will see various lawyer advertisements parading their client’s smiling faces. All with their tales of suing and getting paid six and seven figures. I don’t have to tell you that staged accidents are also part of this nasty business.

Once you reach financial independence or at least have built up a nice portfolio. Even just having a paid-off home. It is important to protect your assets from legal grabs due to legitimate accidents and the staged ones.

Aside from that, there is another threat to your hard-won financial life to beware of. You spend your life busting your hump to reach financial independence and in an emotionally charged moment you make a mistake. One where you Cross the Line and Pay the Price.

Recent Case: Someone I know made a mistake and now knows –  Cross the Line and Pay the Price

The Close Encounter

Last week a friend of mine that I will call Bill described his long day in court. It turns out that last year he found himself involved with a scamming stager of accidents. When it didn’t go down as planned the low-life went to Plan-B on Bill.

Bill was taking an Interstate off-ramp headed to a big box type retail store when he came to the green light signal where you have to either turn left or right. There was a slow-moving Van without a turn signal on. Bill signaled his intent to turn left. The Van’s driver tried his best to have Bill hit it. Bill was able to avoid contact using an evasive move. He muttered a few comments to himself while continuing to his destination where he then parked his car. His initial response wasn’t about that near miss being staged but instead thinking WOW, what an idiot driver that was. I sure dodged a bullet. Wrong!

Followed and Screamed At

Bill had no idea that the Van’s driver followed him to the parking lot. Not until it parked nose first to Bills door. The Van’s driver immediately began screaming at Bill calling him everything under the sun. Bill exited his car and asked what his problem was because he avoided an accident and didn’t hit him. The low-life began screaming repeatedly that he was an off-duty cop and that Bill was under arrest. He screamed he needed to drop to his knees right now with his hands behind his head.

Simple Reach and Contact

Bill asked to see his badge which was ignored. The low-life continued with his screamed claims. Bill was standing near the Van’s driver’s door where the window was open. Then low-life using his hand nearest the window went to reach into a bag that was on the dashboard. All the while screaming that Bill get on his knees. Bill fearing this screaming lunatic may have a gun reached and grabbed his wrist telling him to not pull anything out of the bag. Low-life who was considerably larger than Bill then grabbed Bill by his jacket with his other hand pulling Bill farther into the window. Bill pulled away and the screaming inside the Van continued.

Arrested and Charged

The police eventually came and Bill was arrested for felony assault. The Van driver was cited with a road rage associated charge for following Bill to the parking lot. A charge supported by the position of his Van. The Van driver certainly spun an entirely different story than Bill’s.

Bill did at least 2 things wrong that now has his financial scrotum in a death grasp.

• First, he shouldn’t have taken the bait and left his car to talk to this idiot. He should have stayed in his car and called the police. It’s human nature if you aren’t afraid to find out what is going on and talk to someone. But the legal system is based on the lowest courage denominator so always tuck-it and call the police.
• Second, he should have never reached into low-life’s space inside his Van and touched him.  It was exactly what Plan-B was supposed to cause. If you are truly afraid for your life then get the hell out of there and call the police. If you can’t retreat and decide to go the physical route (not recommended unless there is absolutely no other way out) then all I can say is you treat it like a life and death situation but know that whatever happens your judgment will be challenged and scrutinized in an expensive and not always Just legal process.

The Costs

After already spending $12,000 in attorney fees Bill plead the equivalent to No-Contest to a lesser assault charge. Because he reached into the Van instead of immediately retreating and calling the police there was little or no hope of acquittal. Continuing to fight this would result at best with the same plea deal charge and spending another $25,000 in legal fees. At worst being found guilty of the original charge and Jail time along with the legal fees.

Low-life made a claim for victim’s restitution based on what he said was a sprained wrist and other injuries. He was granted a possible $28,000 restitution that Bill will have to pay if the court agrees to it. After the court date last week was over Bill was then served with a civil lawsuit suing him for $100,000. Low-life picked an amount he is probably used to getting a quick settlement with.

Insurance Won’t Cover It

Because Bill was not in his car at the time of the incident his Homeowners liability insurance will not cover him. The fact that he is now on record as convicted of a crime associated to the incident also would negate coverage had it qualified anyway. This is definitely a case of Cross the Line and Pay the Price. In this case the line was the threshold of the Van’s window.

Bill’s lawyer’s investigator has uncovered that the low-life has several other similar lawsuits in his recent past. Bill will have to fight the Civil Suit and possibly try to counter sue. But low-life scum like this seldom have assets of their own. Bill is trying to accept that he has no choice but to be spending a lot of money.

All of this financial devastation for coming across a highway predator while innocently on his way to a retail store and then not just calmly sitting back and calling the police.

What You Should Do and Know

• Always know your surroundings and avoid trouble if at all possible. That includes staying alert when driving, especially in traffic where accident stagers look for distracted drivers. They may be working with a team consisting of one or more cars.
• Always keep your cool when encountering a violent or screaming person who is targeting you for whatever it is that has got their goat. Call the police.
• If you can get video of what is happening DO SO. If something goes down, look for witnesses and call for help. Then once you are safe call the police.
• Even if someone physically assaults you first and you defend yourself and injure them (real or otherwise) they can still sue you and you can still be charged with a crime. Just get away the best you can and call the police.
• Know and remember that in all altercations, right or wrong, the justice system isn’t going to try to decide anything without an expensive court and legal process.
• Make sure you have good Homeowners and Automobile Liability insurance and not just your State’s minimum required coverage.
• If you have assets that exceed the Liability coverage available you can buy an Umbrella Policy to payout on anything that exceeds your Liability coverage. It is usually only a few hundred dollars a year for this and depending on your asset size should be considered.
• If you are charged and convicted of a crime that is said to have occurred for the damages that would normally be covered by your insurance company then your insurance company will most likely not cover you.

Consider Getting Liability coverage

The time to have the proper amount of Liability coverage based on the assets you wish to protect is long before something you can’t predict happening happens to you.

• There are those without assets who know how to use the laws to bully their way into your portfolio. What once was yours is now theirs and they have nothing to lose.
• Self Defense Laws and assets subject to civil lawsuit vary by State. Check with your State and insurance company to understand your possible liability and the assets that can be seized. Also verify your local self-defense laws.
• For those who have a large amount of assets they may want to consider mounting a dashboard camera for protection from staged accidents or predatory scam artist.
• If you are ever in an accident take lots of photos and if the other party offers driving away if you would pay them a cash deal, never accept or pay and know you are in a scam. Be prepared for everything that is coming your way.

Conclusion.

I have been angry about Bill’s story since hearing about it. Without having this chance and benefit to now ponder and think long and hard through what happened to him and what should be done based on the current legal environment I may have done the same thing he did. Anyone can succumb to a manipulative button pusher. They are pros and know exactly what to do to get a rise out of people. When you think this A-Hole is just begging for a beating know that they really are begging for one, with dollar signs in their eyes.

Have you or anyone you know been the victim of a staged auto accident or altercation for profit?

Legal Disclaimer Note: The information contained in this article is provided as an informational service to visitors and readers of LeisureFreak.com and does not constitute legal advice. LeisureFreak.com and Leisure Freak Tommy makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information and advice contained in this article. Nothing provided herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of your own counsel.