I was in my first car accident. What happens now?
June 20, 2017 10:25 AM Subscribe
I was in my first real-deal car accident yesterday after 16 years of accident-free driving. I was making a left on a yellow light across two lanes, dude in the left lane was pulled out kind of far, dude in the right lane was speeding to try and beat the light, car + car = accident.
Nobody was hurt and the official word from police was that as long as we could move the vehicles there was no reason for them to come out. It really was a true definition of an accident- Neither one of us could see each other. Bad luck etc. We exchanged info and I made a claim with my insurance co. What happens now?
My car is at a collision center (It was un-drivable from the scene). I'll almost certainly be found at fault because I was making the left and I have no way of proving that he was speeding or that the light was yellow (FWIW, his story is that we had a solid green). I do have photos of the scene while we were in the middle of the intersection.
As this is my first accident rodeo, I wanted to query the hivemind about what happens next, how fault affects that and pitfalls I should be aware of. I'm particularly interested in how being found at fault will change things. Any advice is much appreciated!
My car is at a collision center (It was un-drivable from the scene). I'll almost certainly be found at fault because I was making the left and I have no way of proving that he was speeding or that the light was yellow (FWIW, his story is that we had a solid green). I do have photos of the scene while we were in the middle of the intersection.
As this is my first accident rodeo, I wanted to query the hivemind about what happens next, how fault affects that and pitfalls I should be aware of. I'm particularly interested in how being found at fault will change things. Any advice is much appreciated!
Your insurance company will take care of a lot behind the scenes without you hearing much about it. They will wrangle with the other insurance company regarding fault and who owes whom what. Sometimes this can go on for quite some time (I had this process take nearly a year once). If you were at fault, you will not see your deductible again. If for some reason it's determined the other driver was at fault, you may be refunded your deductible. You will likely be called (perhaps more than once) and asked to give a statement about the accident that will be recorded. (Don't admit fault, just give a dispassionate accounting of exactly what happened. Let them figure out how they want to call it given the facts.) How you possibly being found at fault will effect your future insurance rates is really down to individual company policies.
Your insurance company will decide whether your car is salvageable or totaled. Sometimes they can really surprise you with how they rule there. I had over $2000 worth of damage done to an 8-year-old vehicle and it wasn't totaled. I've talked to other people with less damage to newer cars where their insurance company went the other direction. It's just down to how they figure they can save the most money, all things considered. They'll send an adjuster to the shop to take a look and talk to the mechanics about their estimates, then they'll get back in touch with you to talk about their decision.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:49 AM on June 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Your insurance company will decide whether your car is salvageable or totaled. Sometimes they can really surprise you with how they rule there. I had over $2000 worth of damage done to an 8-year-old vehicle and it wasn't totaled. I've talked to other people with less damage to newer cars where their insurance company went the other direction. It's just down to how they figure they can save the most money, all things considered. They'll send an adjuster to the shop to take a look and talk to the mechanics about their estimates, then they'll get back in touch with you to talk about their decision.
posted by soren_lorensen at 10:49 AM on June 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'll almost certainly be found at fault because I was making the left and I have no way of proving that he was speeding or that the light was yellow (FWIW, his story is that we had a solid green).
Turning left, without a protected turn arrow, you have to yield to oncoming traffic regardless of the state of the light, so I don't think proving it was yellow would even help you w/r/t fault. That was, at any rate, the way a similar accident involving a friend of mine played out in court. However, in that accident, both drivers were judged partially at fault; really neither of them should have been going through the intersection, and it sounds like that's true in your case as well.
posted by thelonius at 10:54 AM on June 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
Turning left, without a protected turn arrow, you have to yield to oncoming traffic regardless of the state of the light, so I don't think proving it was yellow would even help you w/r/t fault. That was, at any rate, the way a similar accident involving a friend of mine played out in court. However, in that accident, both drivers were judged partially at fault; really neither of them should have been going through the intersection, and it sounds like that's true in your case as well.
posted by thelonius at 10:54 AM on June 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'll almost certainly be found at fault because I was making the left and I have no way of proving that he was speeding or that the light was yellow (FWIW, his story is that we had a solid green),
Just to help you get your head around this and maybe avoid some indignation with the insurance company - you do realise that this was not 'bad luck', by any means, and that it *is* entirely your fault? It is irrelevant if the guy was speeding (which you have no way of knowing is true, incidentally) because you made the move without being sure that lane was unoccupied. If that car was not visible to you, then neither was the empty space to confirm there WAS no third car, and then you shouldn't have turned (unsighted, not checking for long enough to be sure) and crucially you have no idea if he would have still hit you if he'd been doing exactly the speed limit. So maybe a less severe collision at best. In the same way, there is no way to prove the light would have been red before he crossed the traffic light line and so blew the red light. If it was legal (green/yellow) for you to turn left, it was legal for him to drive through the intersection. This is an at-fault collision, not a 'true accident'.
You pulled across traffic without making certain it was safe to do so. This collision is your fault. This is not an accusation, but it is a statement of fact. It may have been a less severe collision if the other guy wasn't speeding, but you were driving across his lane when there were cars coming.
HAVING SAID THAT, but with that in mind, as mentioned above, don't catastrophize yet. Be ok with it, but collision 101 is that you do not in any way admit fault for the accident. Don't admit fault to the other party, any bystanders or either insurance company. Be as honest as you can be, but don't make any conclusions for them. Give them all the facts and the mitigating circumstances "The guy was speeding, the light was yellow" etc. If the guy admitted speeding? Tell them. If the third car driver said the second car was speeding? Tell them. Your insurers will decide fault between them and as long as you didn't admit fault at the scene (which can make it your fault even if it wasn't, in the eyes of the insurers) they may be able to do a deal of equal fault or similar. Or 'no fault' accident. That doesn't mean they proved it wasn't your fault, but that just how they categorise it.
Consider the above and talk to your insurers. Ask what they need in terms of quotes or inspections. The more helpful you are, the faster this will go, but be ready to have an at-fault accident on your record. This will affect premiums in future, but likely not enormously. You will lose your deductible and your insurance will be more for the next few years. At the point your accident move out of the range of consideration (I think it is 5 years you have to disclose your history for) at that stage, you switch insurers and just keep your extended history to yourself and your premiums return to usual rates.
posted by Brockles at 10:56 AM on June 20, 2017 [14 favorites]
Just to help you get your head around this and maybe avoid some indignation with the insurance company - you do realise that this was not 'bad luck', by any means, and that it *is* entirely your fault? It is irrelevant if the guy was speeding (which you have no way of knowing is true, incidentally) because you made the move without being sure that lane was unoccupied. If that car was not visible to you, then neither was the empty space to confirm there WAS no third car, and then you shouldn't have turned (unsighted, not checking for long enough to be sure) and crucially you have no idea if he would have still hit you if he'd been doing exactly the speed limit. So maybe a less severe collision at best. In the same way, there is no way to prove the light would have been red before he crossed the traffic light line and so blew the red light. If it was legal (green/yellow) for you to turn left, it was legal for him to drive through the intersection. This is an at-fault collision, not a 'true accident'.
You pulled across traffic without making certain it was safe to do so. This collision is your fault. This is not an accusation, but it is a statement of fact. It may have been a less severe collision if the other guy wasn't speeding, but you were driving across his lane when there were cars coming.
HAVING SAID THAT, but with that in mind, as mentioned above, don't catastrophize yet. Be ok with it, but collision 101 is that you do not in any way admit fault for the accident. Don't admit fault to the other party, any bystanders or either insurance company. Be as honest as you can be, but don't make any conclusions for them. Give them all the facts and the mitigating circumstances "The guy was speeding, the light was yellow" etc. If the guy admitted speeding? Tell them. If the third car driver said the second car was speeding? Tell them. Your insurers will decide fault between them and as long as you didn't admit fault at the scene (which can make it your fault even if it wasn't, in the eyes of the insurers) they may be able to do a deal of equal fault or similar. Or 'no fault' accident. That doesn't mean they proved it wasn't your fault, but that just how they categorise it.
Consider the above and talk to your insurers. Ask what they need in terms of quotes or inspections. The more helpful you are, the faster this will go, but be ready to have an at-fault accident on your record. This will affect premiums in future, but likely not enormously. You will lose your deductible and your insurance will be more for the next few years. At the point your accident move out of the range of consideration (I think it is 5 years you have to disclose your history for) at that stage, you switch insurers and just keep your extended history to yourself and your premiums return to usual rates.
posted by Brockles at 10:56 AM on June 20, 2017 [14 favorites]
Tell your story to your insurance company and then don't talk to anyone else. If their insurance company calls you, you don't have to talk to them. You should only speak to your insurer. You do not have to be nice and talk to anyone else.
posted by Medieval Maven at 12:01 PM on June 20, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Medieval Maven at 12:01 PM on June 20, 2017 [3 favorites]
I had an accident just like this a few years ago. I was found at fault, I swear the guy was racing to beat the yellow light, but, the cops spoke to someone who supposedly saw it and they said the light was green.
posted by trbrts at 1:21 PM on June 20, 2017
posted by trbrts at 1:21 PM on June 20, 2017
"you do realise that this was not 'bad luck', by any means, and that it *is* entirely your fault?"
Wow. Nope. No way we can make this determination. We have not seen the property damage, we have not interviewed witnesses. We do not know the intersection, time of day, etc. We have almost nothing to help us make that determination.
In addition, since the police did not come, there will be no police report. Depending on the State, this may be a no fault accident.
OP: Don't worry about it. Let the insurance companies do the work for which you pay a premium, and go about your life. When they call for the interview, answer honestly, do not admit fault. And then forget it and go on with your life.
posted by joecacti at 1:49 PM on June 20, 2017 [3 favorites]
Wow. Nope. No way we can make this determination. We have not seen the property damage, we have not interviewed witnesses. We do not know the intersection, time of day, etc. We have almost nothing to help us make that determination.
In addition, since the police did not come, there will be no police report. Depending on the State, this may be a no fault accident.
OP: Don't worry about it. Let the insurance companies do the work for which you pay a premium, and go about your life. When they call for the interview, answer honestly, do not admit fault. And then forget it and go on with your life.
posted by joecacti at 1:49 PM on June 20, 2017 [3 favorites]
I was in a somewhat similar accident some years ago (in New York state) and I figured it was all my fault. I was making a left turn on a yellow and was hit by a car coming through the intersection the other way. I thought for sure it was all on me.
But not so fast. The two insurance companies involved were all about the location of the damage on my car. In my case, it was toward the rear on the right side, which is apparently taken as an indicator that the other driver was partly at fault. It suggests that I was almost finished making my turn before the driver collided with me, meaning he should have had time to avoid the impact if he were paying attention. If the damage had been more to the front of my car, it would have indicated that I had simply pulled in front of the other car, giving the driver no time to react.
Anyway, in my case we shared liability and I think I ended up with something less than half of the liability while the other guy was saddled with something more. But from the first call I made to my insurance company, I was like, "This is all going to be my fault, right? Since I was making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic?" And they said, "Oh, no, not at all. In fact, this is looking pretty good for you." The information on this page squares pretty well with how it was explained to me.
posted by Mothlight at 9:35 PM on June 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
But not so fast. The two insurance companies involved were all about the location of the damage on my car. In my case, it was toward the rear on the right side, which is apparently taken as an indicator that the other driver was partly at fault. It suggests that I was almost finished making my turn before the driver collided with me, meaning he should have had time to avoid the impact if he were paying attention. If the damage had been more to the front of my car, it would have indicated that I had simply pulled in front of the other car, giving the driver no time to react.
Anyway, in my case we shared liability and I think I ended up with something less than half of the liability while the other guy was saddled with something more. But from the first call I made to my insurance company, I was like, "This is all going to be my fault, right? Since I was making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic?" And they said, "Oh, no, not at all. In fact, this is looking pretty good for you." The information on this page squares pretty well with how it was explained to me.
posted by Mothlight at 9:35 PM on June 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
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In other words, don't catastrophize quite yet.
Next things that will happen: an adjustor (which is a person who assesses the cost of repairs to your car) will look at your car. The adjustor is sent by the insurance company.
Probably, lawyers will send you unsolicited letters offering their services.
I can't tell from your profile if you're in Los Angeles or Louisiana, but you might try searching for "car accident process [state name]". Here's info for California.
posted by amtho at 10:44 AM on June 20, 2017 [2 favorites]