The Car Accident That Majorly Impacted Helen Hunt's Life

Helen Hunt — best known for her role in the sitcom "Mad About You" before starring in blockbuster hits like "Twister" and "As Good as It Gets" — was involved in a serious accident that majorly impacted the actor's life. As reported by TMZ, Hunt was in an SUV that was struck by another vehicle in Los Angeles, California. She was transported from the scene to a nearby hospital, and according to her rep, she was "in stable condition" without any major injuries. Initially, Deadline reported that the "Mad About You" reboot, which Hunt was working on at the time of her accident, would not have to rearrange its production schedule. However, Hunt was slated to miss a couple of days of filming. A later version of the article stated that production was eventually paused because Hunt required more time off than originally expected.

Before long, Hunt announced she'd returned to shooting the "Mad About You" revival. Hunt posted a selfie with actor Paul Reiser, where she looked elated to be back on set. She captioned the Instagram snap, "Back at work." Less than one month later, fans were rewarded with the first batch of episodes, which premiered on November 19, 2019. Ultimately, the reboot didn't make as big of a splash as its source material, garnering only a 42 % approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. To add insult to injury, Hunt's accident would cause her more trouble than originally thought.

Although Helen Hunt walked away from her car accident with minimal long-lasting effects, that wouldn't be the last we'd hear of it. Two years later, in November of 2021, Hunt actually sued BLS Limousine Service of Los Angeles, Inc, the limo company which owned the SUV she was riding in, according to People. Due to the language in Hunt's filing, it seems that she felt the driver, who was employed by the company, was responsible for the scary car accident. Hunt's lawsuit stated that the company was responsible for her "personal injury, wage loss, hospital and medical expenses, general damage," and " loss of earning capacity." Hunt also cited "loss of earnings, emotional distress, pain and suffering, economic and non-economic damages."

Unsurprisingly BLS Limousine Service did not agree with Hunt's version of events. One month later, the company denied causing the car crash, according to Radar. "PLAINTIFF failed to exercise that degree of care and caution which an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances," read the company's court documents. The outlet also noted that BLS's court documents urged the courts to hold the driver of the second car responsible. "That the act or omission, if any, of these answering DEFENDANTS were not a substantial factor in bringing about the PLAINTIFF'S alleged injuries or damages and, therefore, was not a contributing cause thereof, but was superseded by the acts or omissions of others, which were independent, intervening, and proximate causes of any injury or damage suffered by the PLAINTIFF."

It's not known whether Helen Hunt ultimately won her lawsuit against the limousine company. The actor also hasn't publicly spoken about her legal fight, probably at the behest of her lawyers. However, Trial Attorney Alan Goldfarb broke down Hunt's lawsuit on his website and concluded that the facts were in the actor's favor. According to Goldfarb's post, it would be difficult to pinpoint the person who was actually at fault for the crash. However, they claimed that Hunt wasn't liable for contributing to the accident. They also pointed to the fact that the limo driver didn't yield to the traffic laws when making a turn which led to the crash. Ultimately, "there is almost no universe in which the other driver will be blamed for the accident which is likely why Hunt has not filed a lawsuit against them," wrote Goldfarb. The attorney also predicted that BLS could be required to pony up at least a percentage of the damages Hunt requested. 

Fortunately, the accident didn't render Hunt unable to work in Hollywood. Since the crash, Hunt has kept busy. Her latest project, "Blindspotting," a show that revolves around a young mom who has to seek out the help of her boyfriend's family after he goes to prison, premiered in 2012. Hunt plays the mom in the series.