Don't know about the law... but I have heard that before. It' s certainly
true when the other party belongs to the yakuza. They try to get the money
whether it is the law or not at all.
How high is the damage? Just consider the additional cost of a lawyer which
you need to pay whether you are guilty or not.
If it was clearly your mistake, you need to come up with a solution to
compensate
the other party.
If you can't pay, your "guarantor" must kick in. I guess that is your wife
like in my own case.
Since you mentioned "slight accident", there are no injuries involved where
the "victim" can really milk you for millions.


Sigi