Seeking compensation for traffic accident

Legal General Legal Matters
1

The longer I stay here, the maddening the people make me. I’m convinced these people are their own worst enemies!

Long story short, A very senior Taiwanese driver (w/o comprehensive car insurance) misses his turn during rush hour and from the MIDDLE LANE (no turning allowed) he cuts right (while I’m driving straight in rush hour formation) sharply bumping me off my bike leaving to roll toss and slam into the curb. this caused me to shred some ligaments and aggravate a pre-existing injury leaving me in mountains of pain which causes great physical pain and a lengthy surgery and recovery period awaits.

With his septuagenerian reflexes and Taiwanese candor, he wastes no time in blaming me for being in his blind spot (despite no turn signal) and for causing an accident. Luckily a bystander with a great vantage referred and corroborated my what I said.

Turns out this geezer is married to an Aborigine lady granting his family a pro bono lawyer and representative, even in a shut case like this.

Since he seems like a nice guy and clearly didn’t do it on purpose, I decide to make him a sweet heart deal in arbitration. Based on precedent and insurance payments under similar circumstances.

During arbitration, the guy balks and refuses my proposal after I have my father (bad manners if a 40yr old son here does the talking) lays out an itemized spreadsheet of losses incurred with receipts and official documents. Not letting reality or gravity get in the way, the guy pulls a cheap bared naked maneuver and indignantly demands I sue him so that he can invoke his right to free legal representation and drag this case out indefinitely.

I admonish him that everything from the traffic cam video, bystander police report and diagram point to him at which point he declares that he is bankrupt.

Certainly NT150k, might seem a lot for an 70+ old low level fixed income pensioner, but this guy and his aborinal representative are deft in not making a counteroffer since that would be an admission of guilt, but according to precedent and insurance payouts, I’m giving him a heavy aboriginal discount.

I found out that he lives 4 hours roundtrip from the site of the accident while I live only ten minutes away, so I use this tactical advantage to bring him to arbitration every single chance I get. He has the temerity to suggest that this might constitute legal harassment to which my father mentions none of us has anything better to do anyway.

As someone who never forgets to say please and thank you or cross my t’s and dot my i’s, I am staunch defender against Taiwanese lack of etiquette and killer driving instincts.

2

When do you expect to have a decision on the arbitration?

3

Say, do you suppose there could be any legal consequences to talking about all this on the internet?

4

I think you mean mediation (和解).

The rule is that nothing said during mediation can be used in a trial, so strictly speaking, there would be no admission of guilt.

5

I know somebody who was hit and seriously injured by an aboriginal drunk driver with insurance but no license, he got a free lawyer, told the judge he was bankrupt, the judge said he had to pay up or go to jail. The day before the trial he allegedly died so the judge said case dismissed. The insurance didn’t pay since they claimed he had no license and the fact he was dead meant they had no liability. And that was that, no compensation.

It’s funny that the law let’s the insurance companies weasel their way out of paying, liability for injury appears to be the drivers responsibility and if they don’t want to pay, you can only sue.

6

What does this have to do with his wife’s background and his representative both being aboriginal?
You make more than a few references to this. Any reason?
Seems like it has nothing to do with seeking compensation from him.

7

Time traveler! Only explanation.

8

He gets free lawyer assistance and that changed his defence strategy.

9

I think CTaitung is referring to later in the post where it comes up with no real relevance to the situation. In particular, the part where OP says he’s giving him a serious Aboriginal discount is weird. But still a sticky situation.

10

Well, that sounded a bit rude but refers to the fact that aborigins get many benefits, legal and economic.

11

8 posts were split to a new topic: Drink the 酷愛? :hushed:

16

My two cents, remind him in Taiwan’s justice system looks kindly on people who confess, admit guilt and offer compensation and are treated leniently. He has done none of those things and the amount you proposed is fair nor is it trying to exploit the other driver. Let them know if you are forced to lawyer up and drag this trough court you will be seeking a LOT more than what you are currently asking. Plus all your lawyer fees.

Do you have an accident report by the police?

19

Empty threat. He knows that. I know that, but he’s got the upper hand. NT150k is peanuts really. Not worth spending my own money chasing this dragon. This thread is simply me venting about Taiwanese behaving badly.

20

Did you have the police there?
If not, then it’s his word against yours and forget the witnesses. They don’t worth anything month later in court under oath.
Since you got injured, do you have a hospital record of that?
Here is the thing, he caused you to be injured. If it were material damages only, he could have a laugh at you in court. However, since you got injured, if I were him, I’d try to keep this out of the courthouse.

Stop talking to him and let him know that you’ll get a lawyer.
Pay a lawyer like one session and one letter to threaten him as badly as possible with these given circumstances.

My bet, he will pay very quickly.

I had an accident three month ago, and the other side tried to ignore me.
I sent only one message…" I have time on Monday and I will be in the courthouse"
Monday morning, my phone started ringing.
I got paid. Like in your case far less then what I should have asked for.

1 Like
21

Exactly, let him know you will sue 10x what you are asking, he will be paying all your legal fees, any and all damages to property, and and all time you lost working and the earning you lost.

As Hamletintaiwan says, once he knows he will be on the hook for this entire process and a massive increase in what you are asking, pretty sure he will make an offer almost instantly to halt the process.

23

Does he have third party insurance (legal minimum) or nothing at all? If the former why are you even talking to him and not his insurance company? Have you involved your insurance company?

After a minor accident with a doddery old dude in the past I learned how much easier the process is if you have more than the legal minimum insurance yourself and your insurance company does the legwork for you.