Car accident - got hit, now other driver claims it's our fault.
September 19, 2014 7:06 PM Subscribe
So the day after my car got hit while parked (fault on this one was pretty clear, plus I got the other driver making a statement on video that it was her fault), my wife was driving on a local highway and got merged into. Nobody hurt, thankfully - the other driver admitted it was her fault on the scene, but here's the catch...
... the other driver has now changed her story when she made her account to her insurance, saying that it was my wife that merged into/hit her.
I have a hard time imagining how the insurance companies will determine that it's anything but 50/50, and am getting angrier and angrier at the prospect of us having to pay the deductible and get higher rates because we were actually victimized and then the other party lied.
Details: Two lane freeway transition, wife was in lane 2, other driver in lane 1. Lane 2 turns into an offramp for the airport - drivers going through are advised by arrows to merge left. Other driver was on the way to the airport and merged, not seeing my wife's car. They could just as plausibly argue that my wife was merging left to continue straight. The other car's rear passenger bumper hit her front driver's side bumper.
So, once again, I ask the collective wisdom/experience of the group:
1) Has anyone had experience about how they determine fault in an accident like this?
2) What can we do to fight this, even if it's on principle?
... the other driver has now changed her story when she made her account to her insurance, saying that it was my wife that merged into/hit her.
I have a hard time imagining how the insurance companies will determine that it's anything but 50/50, and am getting angrier and angrier at the prospect of us having to pay the deductible and get higher rates because we were actually victimized and then the other party lied.
Details: Two lane freeway transition, wife was in lane 2, other driver in lane 1. Lane 2 turns into an offramp for the airport - drivers going through are advised by arrows to merge left. Other driver was on the way to the airport and merged, not seeing my wife's car. They could just as plausibly argue that my wife was merging left to continue straight. The other car's rear passenger bumper hit her front driver's side bumper.
So, once again, I ask the collective wisdom/experience of the group:
1) Has anyone had experience about how they determine fault in an accident like this?
2) What can we do to fight this, even if it's on principle?
This exact thing happened to my husband. We even had two witnesses and a police report - and the insurance agencies still ruled it inconclusive because the other party swore over and over that my husband was the one who merged. Sorry :(
posted by joan_holloway at 7:13 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by joan_holloway at 7:13 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
you have her on video admitting fault? post it on her facebook so her friends can see it.
posted by bruce at 7:15 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bruce at 7:15 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Dragonness, the video was of a different accident.
posted by alms at 7:15 PM on September 19, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by alms at 7:15 PM on September 19, 2014 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Sorry - I should've omitted the story about my accident (w/ the video), just thought it was darkly funny that we both got run into on consecutive days after a combined forty years of no accidents at all.
posted by theplatypus at 7:16 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by theplatypus at 7:16 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
If your wife was in lane 2 does that mean she was headed to the airport? Can she prove it (with a ticket, etc)?
posted by acidic at 7:28 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by acidic at 7:28 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Does your insurance company have a place on their claims website where you can enter a diagram of how the cars were situated in the lanes and/or where the damage is? The more detail you can give them the easier it will be to prove your version.
posted by MsMolly at 7:31 PM on September 19, 2014
posted by MsMolly at 7:31 PM on September 19, 2014
Response by poster: Acidic: No, in fact the other driver was on her way to the airport, so she was merging to the right lane, which peels off to the airport. Wife was going straight, on her way home.
Frankly, unless the insurance company has special methods to determine fault, it's just as plausible (I guess) a story that my wife merged from lane 2 into the other car in lane 1, except you'd have to be kind of an idiot to merge into the back right side of a car in front of you on a highway with free flowing traffic.
posted by theplatypus at 7:34 PM on September 19, 2014
Frankly, unless the insurance company has special methods to determine fault, it's just as plausible (I guess) a story that my wife merged from lane 2 into the other car in lane 1, except you'd have to be kind of an idiot to merge into the back right side of a car in front of you on a highway with free flowing traffic.
posted by theplatypus at 7:34 PM on September 19, 2014
Let your insurance company do their job. Provide your documentation. They may decide that it's mutual fault, and each company will pay a portion. Your company does not want to pay; they will make a good attempt to prove your case. Yes, it sucks when people lie. Insurance companies are used to it.
posted by theora55 at 7:40 PM on September 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 7:40 PM on September 19, 2014 [3 favorites]
Let your insurance company do their job. Provide your documentation. They may decide that it's mutual fault, and each company will pay a portion.
This. In some states and on some types of roadway, you are required to yield to merging traffic. On others, merging traffic must yield. It can be a real pain to sort out.
Tell your insurance what happened, and provide documentation (if she was headed to the airport to catch a plane, a boarding pass will be evidential.) to help them prove their case. You pay them to fight this, and really, what they want is for the other insurance to pay everything so they (and you, but mostly they) don't have to.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:49 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
This. In some states and on some types of roadway, you are required to yield to merging traffic. On others, merging traffic must yield. It can be a real pain to sort out.
Tell your insurance what happened, and provide documentation (if she was headed to the airport to catch a plane, a boarding pass will be evidential.) to help them prove their case. You pay them to fight this, and really, what they want is for the other insurance to pay everything so they (and you, but mostly they) don't have to.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:49 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
I know people are always willing to talk about the shitty service they get from their insurance company, but I have to say I've repeatedly been in situations similar to this where it all worked out just fine -- meaning, my insurance company did their due diligence, looked at the placement of the damage on the cars, considered everybody's statments, etc, and came up with the correct outcome. Give your insurance co. a chance to get it right. It's in their best interest to defend you so they don't have to shell out any money.
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:01 PM on September 19, 2014
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:01 PM on September 19, 2014
i was in an accident a few years ago. i was coming out of my driveway (i live in an apartment), and an artist in the neighborhood had parked his dodge sprinter van in the red zone right next to the driveway, and i couldn't see around him. i slowly pulled out of my driveway, and had a low speed collision with a minivan. the police (community officer) came out, we both gave statements, the police took measurements, i took pictures (which was great, because in the middle of the hubbub the artist came and MOVED HIS VAN DOWN THE STREET). life went on.
my insurance eventually determined it to be comparable fault - yes, it was technically my fault, but had the van not been parked in the red zone, it would have made it much easier for me to see what was coming. i didn't get my deductible back, but alternately, my rates did not go up at all.
sometimes you come out even. this may also happen for your wife. it may end up being comparable fault. but whomever above said that insurance doesn't want to pay and will make every effort to not do so was correct - my insurance fought tooth and nail for me. that's what you pay them for.
good luck.
posted by koroshiya at 8:40 PM on September 19, 2014
my insurance eventually determined it to be comparable fault - yes, it was technically my fault, but had the van not been parked in the red zone, it would have made it much easier for me to see what was coming. i didn't get my deductible back, but alternately, my rates did not go up at all.
sometimes you come out even. this may also happen for your wife. it may end up being comparable fault. but whomever above said that insurance doesn't want to pay and will make every effort to not do so was correct - my insurance fought tooth and nail for me. that's what you pay them for.
good luck.
posted by koroshiya at 8:40 PM on September 19, 2014
Last year I was rear-ended by a garbage truck coming out from a side street with a stop sign (where I had none). Police came and assured me they'd be found at fault, but they told their ins co that I'd hit *them*, and their insurance co went to bat for them. My ins co was very little help. It was only after I took the whole thing to the board of insurance that the truck company's ins co accepted liability. So know that 1.) your insurance co may not do much for you, though it seems like that's what they're supposed to do, and 2.) you have the option of appealing to the board of insurance.
posted by FlyByDay at 9:30 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by FlyByDay at 9:30 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]
Simmer down. This is not for you to fret about, the insurance companies will sort it out. Provide them with any evidence that you have and let the people you pay premiums to hash it out.
This happened to my boss. She was at a stop in Atlanta traffic and some asshole merged into her. Then got out, noticed she was 6 months pregnant and proceeded to scream and threaten her! He admitted to the police that he threatened her, and his insurance company wanted to assign 80/20 fault for an accident she was helpless to prevent, let alone have any fault in!
Let the wheels turn. Do you have a police report? Get a copy and see what it says. But continue to tell your story.
Sometimes unfair things happen, and while it's annoying, we have insurance as part of the general unfairness of the world to protect us as much as possible.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:15 AM on September 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
This happened to my boss. She was at a stop in Atlanta traffic and some asshole merged into her. Then got out, noticed she was 6 months pregnant and proceeded to scream and threaten her! He admitted to the police that he threatened her, and his insurance company wanted to assign 80/20 fault for an accident she was helpless to prevent, let alone have any fault in!
Let the wheels turn. Do you have a police report? Get a copy and see what it says. But continue to tell your story.
Sometimes unfair things happen, and while it's annoying, we have insurance as part of the general unfairness of the world to protect us as much as possible.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:15 AM on September 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I had a similar experience where the other party claimed it was my fault, and I had photos proving it couldn't have been. My insurance company ruled in my favour and I eventually got my deductible back.
Good luck.
posted by Dragonness at 7:13 PM on September 19, 2014