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A driver for my bus company was inviolved in an accident in 2010. The people involved in the accident sued however my company was able to prove them negligent. Now they are trying to sue my company civilly for their medical bill. I am supposed to go to court on the 19th! How should this be handled? What are their chances of "winning"? Lastly, neither me nor my driver ever received a subpoena in our hands; they were simply left in our neighbor's door...who in turn gave them to us.I need your help. This happened in Pennsylvania.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Pennsylvania Already Tried: I always go to Just Answer first!
Hello and Welcome to JustAnswer!I have been a lawyer over 20 years, and I look forward to assisting you.Please provide me with more detailed information as to what specifically happened in the first case. I assume you own the bus company. Please clarify. Was the first case a criminal case? Was this for criminal Negligence? Fill me in with as much specific info as possible. I will address the service of process issues after I receive the additional clarification. Thanks for letting me assist you.
I am the owner of the bus company. One of my hired drivers was in an accident. I was a criminal case for criminal negligence; they tried to prove that the accident was caused by my driver's negligent operation of the school bus. We were proven "Not Guilty". Now, two years later they are suing me civilly.
Relist: Other.I need an answer "now"
Okay that's what I thought. The first thing you need to be made aware of is the burden of proof is different in criminal and civil cases. In criminal cases the burden is "beyond a reasonable doubt". This is a very high burden and a difficult burden for a prosecutor to overcome. However the burden of proof that the plaintiff must prove in a civil case is much lower. It is "by a preponderance of the evidence." this is a much easier burden to prove. So you can be found not guilty in the criminal case and negligent in the civil case. A perfect example of this scenario that most people are aware of is when OJ Simpson was found not guilty in the criminal case but there was an exact opposite result in the civil case. This is all important for you to understand and appreciate.Now I assume the bus company is insured. So you should take the papers that you received and provide them to the insurance company immediately. You will be provided representation by the insurance company and they will decide whether they want to accept service or reject it. It is possible to reject service in this situation but I may not be worth the effort because it is easy to correct.With all this said I don't want you to assume that your company will automatically be found negligent in the civil case. You do have a leg up because you were found not guilty in the Criminal case. Your attorney will use that to his/her advantage every step of the way.I hope you found this analysis helpful. Let me know if you have a follow up question. If not please don't forget to hit the green button and I wish you the best with this very serious matter. Thanks for letting me assist.
Have you had the opportunity to review my answer? Do you require anything further? If not, please don't forget to hit the green button, and thank you for letting me assist you!
Experience: Very experienced in Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice.