Q: My ex backed up his car and hit my body with his car. Can I file legal action?
I believed my ex was stalking me, I walked over to him in his car to ask if he was. He ignored me and put headphones on, I walked behind his car to talk to a man next to the parking spot. I asked him, "I think this guy is stalking me... what should I do?" But as I asked the question my ex reversed his car hitting me with it, i got pushed back multiple steps. I recorded him doing it where he kept backing up onto me, I moved out of the way now fearing for my safety. A women next to us got out of her car and asked him what he was doing, he lowered the window and I was recording at this point, he asked sarcasticly "are you hurt?" I said "yes!!! you just hit me with your car" he said then "ok yes, yeah, so call the police for ems" this is on video. I'm startled at this point and the women is also worried and she gets in her car. He leaves, I call the police, I have a panic attack and leave before talking to them because my back hurts and my mental state is shot. What do I do?
A:
Yes, you can file a lawsuit to recover your:
Past and future medical expenses
Lost wages for time you couldn’t work
Conscious pain and suffering
Past and future mental anguish
if any, caused by the bodily injuries you suffered as a result of being hit by the car.
If you can prove your ex was acting with malice, you could also recover exemplary damages.
You should consult a personal injury attorney for the above. Do not be surprised if they recommend you avoid claiming your ex acted intentionally because that may mean his car insurance won’t cover any damages, in which case you’d have to collect from any non-exempt assets owned by your ex and there may not be any.
You may also separately be able to get a protective order against your ex to prevent him from coming around you in the future.
You should contact your local district attorneys’ office to get a protective order.
If you choose to do both, make sure both attorneys know about and communicate with each other, primarily to ensure you don’t take a position in the protective order case that affects the insurance coverage in your personal injury case.
Jonathan R. Ratchik agrees with this answer
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